THE INTRODUCTION OF E-CARS IN KUWAIT HAS NOT BEEN EXAMINED ; TARIFF RESTRUCTURING EYED

  • 07/04/2022

Kuwait City: The entry of electric cars into Kuwait was not studied during the preparation of studies on the fourth structural plan of 2016/2021, according to Director General of Kuwait Municipality Eng. Ahmad Al-Manfouhi, despite the presence of a small number of them in Kuwait at the time, as well as the presence of a number of fast charging stations for these electric vehicles installed in car parks. He stated that more public charging stations will be required in the future, due to the incapacity of the present electrical networks of residential units to charge their private cars if they are allowed in general.


 In response to a question from Municipal Council member Hamoud Oqla about the extent of studying the fourth structural plan for the entry of electric cars into Kuwait, Eng. Al-Manfouhi stated that it is impossible to know the exact number of cars that will be imported into Kuwait, but it can be expected that the percentage of electric-powered vehicles will increase significantly (if not completely) over the next ten to twenty years. "The rationale for saying this is that all major global automakers are committed to supplying electric vehicle groups," he clarified. Eng. Al-Manfouhi revealed that there were approximately 1,485,926 private cars registered in 2015 during the period of preparing the fourth structural plan, adding that this registered a growth rate of about 2% since 2010, and this growth is not expected to continue indefinitely, but it may rise as the young generation reaches driving age. 

"The recommendations of the fourth structural plan for the State of Kuwait stress the necessity to restructure the tariff, as well as adopting a strategy for the electrical sector in terms of implementing a new tariff and collecting revenues," he stated. Tariff reform is one of the fourth structural plan's requirements. With the tariff at such low levels, no consumer will be interested in implementing sustainable scenarios that cut consumption and contribute to environmental preservation. In this case, the energy network will continue to expand endlessly to fulfil demand. 

In theory, reliance on electric vehicles puts a strain on the electric grid, which is why the fourth master plan recommended "the introduction of electric vehicles in the context of parallel implementation of other sustainable policies in order to mitigate additional energy requirements and to maintain the expected load as much as possible." Eng. Al-Manfouhi emphasised the importance of approaching national policy for charging electric vehicles from two perspectives: domestic charging and public charging, because electric vehicle technology necessitates the integration of high-energy loads into the public grid system.

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