The short answer#
To sell EV charging to the public in Kenya you need a site with enough power, an electricity retail supply licence from EPRA, chargers certified by the Kenya Bureau of Standards, a separate meter on the e-mobility tariff and a completion certificate from a licensed electrical contractor. You buy energy at KES 16 per kWh, or KES 8 off-peak, before levies and VAT, and set your own displayed price. Whether a site pays depends mostly on how many cars use it each day and on what the grid connection costs, so settle those two before buying equipment.
Four ways into the business#
| Model | What you do | Licence position under EPRA's 2023 guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Own and run a public station | Fund the chargers, hold the licence, set the price | Retail supply licence before installation (clause 1.1) |
| Host a station on your land | Provide the site; an operator builds and runs it | The operator holds the licence |
| Charge your own fleet | Chargers for vehicles you own or lease | Captive charging for your own fleet (clause 2.3); no public sale |
| Battery swap station | Charge and swap motorcycle batteries | Same application annex; battery rules in clause 3 |
Hosting is the route with the least capital: fuel stations, malls and roadside stops on busy routes are the sites operators look for, and EPRA's guidelines allow existing fuel stations to be given priority (clause 5.3).
Step 1: choose the site for the cars, then check the power#
A good site is where EV drivers already stop for 20 minutes or more, or a town or highway stretch with no fast charger. EPRA's siting guidance is one public station in every 3 km by 3 km grid in towns and one every 25 km on both sides of highways (clause 5.1). Then ask Kenya Power what the site can supply. A 120 kW DC charger often draws more than a forecourt has spare, so a new transformer or line is often the largest cost after the charger and the one that takes longest. Get the power study before signing a lease or ordering equipment.
Step 2: the licence and approvals#
Apply to EPRA for the retail supply licence with the documents in Annex 1 of the guidelines, which include a NEMA environmental impact assessment licence unless exempted, county development permission and a fire safety certificate. The annex sets a KES 10,000 application fee and a 60 calendar day evaluation once the application is complete; confirm the current fee and forms with EPRA. See EV charging station rules in Kenya for the clauses.
Step 3: choose chargers the cars can use#
- AC, 7 to 22 kW, Type 2: for places where cars park for hours, such as offices, hotels and apartments. Lower cost and a smaller supply.
- DC, 50 kW and above, CCS2: for highways and quick stops. The guidelines name CCS and CHAdeMO for DC above 50 kW (clause 1.3); most new cars in Kenya use CCS2, while older Nissan Leafs need CHAdeMO.
Every charger must be KEBS certified or type-approved (clause 1.6). See AC and DC charging explained.
Step 4: metering and the e-mobility tariff#
A charging station is separately metered (clause 7.3) and billed on Kenya Power's e-mobility tariff: KES 16 per kWh, or KES 8 off-peak, before pass-through charges, levies and VAT. Gazette Notice 15188 of 18 September 2026 removed the old 15,000 kWh monthly limit. Details and off-peak hours are in the Kenya Power EV tariff guide.
Step 5: set and show your price#
You set the price, and it must be displayed per kWh, per minute and per session (clauses 8.2 to 8.4). EPRA may cap prices. Unless charging is free, the station must accept secure payment that includes contactless card and a toll-free phone or SMS option. As a market reference, press reports in September 2026 gave KES 48 per kWh as the price indicated for BasiGo and Rubis highway fast chargers. The gap between your price and the tariff has to cover the charger, the grid connection, the site, payment fees, maintenance and idle hours.
Step 6: certify, open and keep it working#
Before the first paying session the station must be inspected and tested and given a completion certificate by a licensed electrical contractor (clause 1.5). The installer hands over as-built drawings, warranties and a workmanship warranty of at least one year (clause 4.1). After that the work is uptime: a way for drivers to report faults (clause 12.1), spare parts, and someone who answers the telephone.
What decides whether it pays#
- Sessions per day. A charger earns only while a car is plugged in. Kenya had 235 charging stations in 2025 by the UN Economic Commission for Africa's count, so many towns and long stretches of highway have none, but the number of EVs passing a given site is still small. Count them before you build.
- The grid connection. Transformer and line costs vary more from site to site than charger prices do.
- When cars charge. Energy bought off-peak costs half as much.
- Reliability. A charger that is out of service loses its regular drivers.
We publish no return or payback figures, because they depend on the site. Anyone who quotes you one without a traffic count and a Kenya Power quote is guessing.
How Precifarm can help#
If you have a site, you can host an ARC Corridor station: the process starts with a free site survey and a power study with Kenya Power. For your own fleet or workplace, see Pulse+ and the engineering service. For motorcycle swapping, see Boda Hub. This page is a summary, not legal or investment advice.