Importing and Distributing Solar PV Products in Kenya: EPRA Licensing Requirements

Kenya’s off-grid and grid-tied solar market has grown fast, and so has regulatory attention on who is allowed to sell into it. A common misconception among new entrants, including foreign manufacturers and distributors looking to appoint a Kenyan importer, is that solar panels, inverters and batteries move through Kenya on a general “import licence.” They do not. Kenya has no such general regime. What actually governs the trade is a sector-specific licence issued by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) under the Energy (Solar Photovoltaic Systems) Regulations, 2012. Anyone manufacturing, importing, distributing, selling or installing solar PV systems or components in Kenya needs one, and operating without it carries real criminal exposure, not just an administrative inconvenience.

Who Needs an EPRA Solar PV Licence

The Regulations apply broadly: to manufacturers, importers, vendors, technicians, contractors, system owners, and the installation itself. Regulation 6(1) is explicit that a person shall not import, distribute, promote, sell or install any solar PV system unless licensed. This catches a wider range of activity than most new entrants expect. A company that only imports panels and sells them to installers still needs a licence, even if it never touches an installation. The Regulations were made under the old Energy Act, 2006, but continue in force and are now administered by EPRA, which succeeded the Energy Regulatory Commission when the Energy Act, 2019 came into effect.

The Licence Classes That Matter for Trade

The Regulations set out distinct classes depending on the role in the supply chain. For technicians: Class T1 (small systems up to 100 Wp, single battery), Class T2 (medium systems up to 300 Wp, multiple batteries, may include an inverter) and Class T3 (advanced, including grid-connected and hybrid systems). For businesses: Class C1 (design and installation, must employ a Class T3 technician), Class V1 (distribution, promotion, sale or installation, must employ a Class T2 technician) and Class V2 (manufacture or import of solar PV systems or components, must employ a Class T2 technician).

A foreign supplier appointing a Kenyan importer, or setting up its own importing entity, is looking at Class V2. A distributor buying finished stock and reselling it without importing directly would instead fall under V1. Getting the class wrong at application stage causes delay, since EPRA assesses the application against the specific class applied for.

Documentation and the Application Process

An application for a manufacturer, importer, vendor or contractor licence goes to EPRA on the prescribed form, naming the class sought, and must be accompanied by certified copies of: the applicant’s ID or, for non-citizens, a current work permit and passport pages; entry permits for non-citizens; the certificate of incorporation and memorandum and articles of association (or business name registration certificate); a lease agreement or landlord’s letter confirming tenancy of business premises; PIN and VAT certificates; and a valid tax compliance certificate. Regulation 6(2) also requires the applicant to have a licensed technician of the appropriate class in its employment before the application can be granted.

Regulation 7(3) requires EPRA to process all applications expeditiously and, in any case, not later than ninety days from the date of receipt of the application. In practice this outer limit assumes a complete file; an incomplete application is queried rather than processed, which resets the practical timeline.

Fees, Validity and Renewal

The Second Schedule to the Regulations sets fixed fees by class. For the business classes: Class C1 costs KES 500 to apply, KES 1,000 on grant, and KES 1,000 to renew annually. Class V1 costs KES 1,000, KES 2,500, and KES 1,000. Class V2, the import/manufacture class, costs KES 2,000, KES 5,000, and KES 2,500. Technician classes T2 and T3 carry their own separate, lower fee scale. A licence is valid for one year from issue and must be renewed at least thirty days before expiry; if it lapses unrenewed for two consecutive years without EPRA being notified in writing beforehand, it is treated as cancelled and the holder must reapply from scratch, including an oral interview.

Warranty Obligations You Take On With the Licence

Licensing is not the end of the compliance burden. The Fourth Schedule fixes minimum warranty periods that a manufacturer, vendor, technician or contractor must honour: 20 years on panels, 10 years on controllers/regulators and inverters, 2 years on light fittings, and only 1 year on batteries and light bulbs/LEDs. These are minimums set by regulation, not marketing terms, and a business advertising a shorter warranty on panels or inverters is in breach regardless of what its own supply contract with an upstream manufacturer says.

What Happens Without a Licence

Regulation 16 makes it an offence to manufacture, import, vend or install solar PV systems without the appropriate licence, or to submit false information in support of an application. On conviction, the penalty is a fine of up to KES 1,000,000, imprisonment of up to one year, or both. This sits alongside, and separately from, the customs and quality-standards clearance requirements a shipment must also satisfy, covered in our companion guide on that topic.