Kenya’s electricity demand story is beginning to reflect the early stirrings of a transport transition, but one that remains too small to shift the broader energy landscape.
- •Data from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority's Biannual Energy & Petroleum Statistics Report shows that electricity consumption by electric vehicles and motorcycles surged 152.5% in the six months to December 2025, rising to 4.57 GWh from 1.81 GWh a year earlier.
- •Yet, even with that rapid growth, electric mobility accounted for just 0.08% of total national electricity use.
- •Overall electricity use rose 8.27% to 5,938.14 GWh during the period, driven primarily by industrial, household and small business demand.
Industrial consumption alone stood at 2,924.48 GWh, nearly half of total usage, underscoring where real load growth continues to reside.
By comparison, electric mobility consumption remained dwarfed even by public utilities such as street lighting, which used 66.41 GWh over the same period.
Street lighting consumed 66.41 GWh, an increase of 49.30% from 44.48 GWh utilized in the half year ended December 2024. This category accounted for 1.12% of the total electrical energy consumption.
This imbalance points to a structural lag between policy ambition and real economy uptake. Constraints around charging infrastructure, vehicle costs and limited nationwide penetration continue to cap electricity demand from the transport sector, even as adoption accelerates.
In February, Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir launched Kenya’s National Electric Mobility Policy in Nairobi, positioning electric vehicles as central to reducing the country’s fuel import burden and strengthening energy security.
Kenya’s annual petroleum import bill, estimated at about $5 billion, remains one of the largest drains on foreign exchange, according to government data. Figures from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics show fuel imports rose to KSh628.4 billion in 2023, highlighting the economy’s continued dependence on fossil fuels.
The government argues that scaling up electric mobility could reverse that trend. EV adoption has already accelerated sharply, with registrations rising to 39,324 units in 2025 from just 1,378 in 2022, a more than 2,700% increase in three years. Much of this growth has been driven by electric motorcycles in the boda boda segment, supported by new financing models and cheaper entry-level products.
To sustain the shift, authorities have introduced fiscal incentives, including VAT zero-rating for electric buses, motorcycles and bicycles, alongside tax breaks on lithium-ion batteries. The policy also aims to catalyse investment in charging infrastructure and local assembly, areas where gaps remain pronounced.
