Kenya State Power Generation Company – KenGen has commenced a project in a bid Purchase all its Caravan from Fossil Fuel to Electricity-Powered

By Abdul Rahman Bangura-

Photo Credit: The Star

NEW AFRICA BUSINESS NEWS (NABN) Freetown, Sierra Leone– This project has begun, with the company buying four electric units – two SUVs from South Korea and two dual cabins from China – as initial instalment to fulfill as the pilot phase of the enterprise.

The corporation’s policy and innovation General Manager – David Muthike warned the that, the company was seizing lead in the administration’s all-around agenda of decarbonizing Kenyan roads and economy.

Additional three other stations will be up by end of 2023. Murang’a, Embu, and Kisumu counties have been set aside to host them within its power plants. Muthike told, their conception is to restore all the corporation’s vehicles to be powered by electricity and also utilize the impetus to impact the public, beginning with the matatu sector to go
green.

The firm is similarly enthusiastic in private car owners, who choose electric transportations to fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

“We will go public by installing charging stations and infrastructure in many other places so that it becomes easily accessible. The concern and risk about climate change is a clear present danger that we must take seriously and act on it,” he stated.

Muthike said the electric vehicles are way cheaper in terms of total ownership cost in the long run compared to petrol- and diesel-powered ones currently in use in the country.

The electric vehicles, he said, have no bulk engine, only a battery that is charged, and its other parts are largely cooling systems, adding that this lowers the maintenance cost.

“Electric cars are way faster and more efficient. Right now, you buy a liter of petrol for Sh180, but a kilowatt unit of electricity in the country is approximately Sh22, so spot the difference,” Muthike said.

“The electric cars use around 0.2 kilowatt for a kilometer, translating to roughly Sh4.50 compared to around Sh18 for every kilometer when using petrol. So factoring the fueling cost and maintenance plus the fact that there is no emission, the electric vehicles gives you a better deal for your money.”

A double cab pick up costs Sh7 million, but petrol-powered versions cost about Sh6.05 million.

The motion is part of KenGen’s green energy evolution because, now, it produces 87% of its power from renewables. The power giant has been receiving carbon worth’s and that with the latest enterprise, he predicts revenue to rise.

“We hope to start trading in the carbon market soon after accruing the credits,” Muthike noted.

Sebastian Kalama, the Chief Technical Officer, told electric vehicles to pick up speed fast and it costs Sh5,000 to service, approximated to the Sh30,000 or Sh40,000 spent servicing fossil fuel cars. Electric cars are serviced after 10,000km compared to 5,000km for most petrol or diesel cars.

“This car [double cabin] takes eight seconds of revving to hit 100 kilometers per hour kilometers” he said.

The corporation’s action arrives as a fleet of 15 electric Public Service Vehicles have arrived in the country last week, sounding a quickness to change positions to ecofriendly public transport. The delivery of the buses is part of the nation’s proposals to ultimately phase out gasoline and petrol-powered PSVs.

Kenya Ports Authority said the electric buses were ferried by BYD Automotive and belongs to BasiGo, a Kenyan e-mobility startup giving electric bus solutions to PSV holders.

For New Africa Business News (NABN) Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent