How much does it cost to charge an electric car in Kenya?

For your Nairobi commute, start with where you will charge most often. If you can plug in at home each night, use the extra cost on your electricity bill. If you depend on public stations, check their session prices, fees and access arrangements.

Write down your usual daily distance, longest regular journey and parking location before choosing a car. Use the same journeys to compare a BYD Dolphin, a compact city car or a larger family SUV.

The calculation behind your charging bill

You buy electricity in kilowatt-hours, written as kWh. A charger’s kW rating describes its power and mainly affects how quickly it supplies that energy. Buying a more powerful charger does not, by itself, reduce the number of units you need.

Charging cost = billed energy in kWh × price per kWh + session, parking or idle fees.

If your consumption figure measures energy taken from the battery, allow for charging losses. At an assumed efficiency of 90%, replacing 15 kWh requires 15 ÷ 0.90 = 16.67 kWh at the meter. If you have measured the billed energy for that journey, use it directly. Adding a loss allowance again would count the same energy twice.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s home charging guide explains the same relationship between vehicle energy consumption and electricity price. The Kenyan rate should come from your own account or charging operator.

Kenya Power’s e-mobility tariff and your actual rate

In its 4 June 2026 announcement, Kenya Power stated e-mobility energy rates of KSh 16 per unit during peak hours and KSh 8 during off-peak hours. It also announced a programme to move EV charging customers onto that tariff. Read Kenya Power’s announcement.

Ask Kenya Power which tariff applies to your meter, whether it qualifies for the e-mobility tariff and which time bands apply. Keep the other charges on the complete bill in your budget. A domestic account does not automatically receive the e-mobility rate, and the published energy charge is only part of the final price.

For home charging, estimate the extra electricity cost caused by charging the car, including applicable taxes, levies and adjustments. For public charging, check the price shown by the operator before starting a session.

What does it cost to drive 100 km?

For these examples, battery energy use is 15 kWh per 100 km and charging efficiency is 90%. The all-in rates are illustrative inputs, not published tariffs. Your car’s consumption can vary with speed, traffic, air conditioning, gradients and load.

To check a car on your route, record kilometres travelled and the billed kWh needed to restore its charge over several comparable days. You can then calculate its cost per kilometre using your charging setup.

A 20% to 80% recharge and a monthly budget

For an illustrative battery with 60 kWh of usable capacity, moving from 20% to 80% adds 36 kWh. At 90% charging efficiency, that requires approximately 40 billed kWh. The energy bill would be KSh 1,000 at an assumed KSh 25/kWh or KSh 1,600 at KSh 40/kWh, before any separate fees.

At 1,500 km a month, the same consumption assumption gives about 250 billed kWh. That costs KSh 6,250 at KSh 25/kWh or KSh 10,000 at KSh 40/kWh. Battery capacity limits how much energy you can add in one session. Your distance and the car’s efficiency determine the month’s energy use.

Compare electricity with petrol on the same journey

Suppose a petrol car covers 12 km per litre and petrol costs KSh 200 per litre. Those are example inputs, not today’s pump price or a measured vehicle result. Its fuel cost for 100 km would be about KSh 1,667. Against the KSh 417 electric scenario, the difference is about KSh 1,250 per 100 km in energy alone.

For the full ownership comparison, add purchase price, finance, insurance, servicing and tyres, then account for resale. Include the home charger and installation if you pay for them. The energy saving is one part of that calculation.

Home charging costs to confirm before buying

Request an installation quotation that separates the charger, cabling, protection, labour and any supply upgrade. An apartment or rented parking bay also needs permission, a billing arrangement and reliable access. Have a qualified professional assess the site under the applicable Kenyan requirements; EPRA’s charging infrastructure guidelines cover public and private installations.

Check the supplied vehicle’s AC and DC connections against the equipment you plan to use. A map can show a station’s location, but you still need to check compatibility with your import. SafiVolt’s charging and connector guide explains what to ask.