Page 6 - DMEA Week 06 2023
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DMEA ENERGY TRANSITION DMEA
Kenya Power to convert
2,000 of its vehicles
KENYA NAIROBI-LISTED Kenya Power (KPLC) plans the transition from fossil fuel-powered vehi-
to convert its 2,000 petrol- and diesel-driven cles.“The company has consistently invested
vehicles to electric over the next four years, its heavily towards the expansion of the grid’s
acting managing director announced on Tues- capacity and its automation to accommodate
day (February 7). the exponential growth in demand for electric-
KPLC, the East African country’s sole power ity and to improve the flexibility of the grid and,
distributor, serving more than three-quarters of in turn, the quality of power supply,” he said,
the population, plans to make the transition by as quoted by The Standard. Kenya’s generation
retrofitting electric engines and buying new elec- capacity is estimated at 3,321 megawatts (MW)
tric vehicles, Geoffrey Muli said. with a peak demand of 2,132 MW and off-peak
In 2020, the Kenyan government rolled out a demand of about 1,100 MW, according to Kenya
series of policies and incentives aimed at encour- Power. Renewable energy currently accounts
aging the use and production of EVs. Muli, in a for 73% of installed power generation capacity
speech at the opening session of KPLC’s inau- in Kenya, whilst 90% of electricity used in the
gural e-mobility conference in Nairobi, assured country is generated by green energy sources
investors and stakeholders in the electric mobil- such as geothermal, wind, solar and hydroelec-
ity industry that the grid network can support tric, according to Africa Outlook.
P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 06 09•February•2023
