President Museveni: Over 1,400,000 households to be connected to electricity as Electricity Regulatory Authority is accelerating electricity access to 60 percent by 2027.
As the country is celebrating the 37th NRM/NRA Anniversary, it’s important to note that the electricity sub sector has attained remarkable improvement in the Distribution of Electricity in Uganda. Energy Losses have been reduced from over 3% at liberalization to 14% in 2022. The Access to Clean Energy rate has also increased and the legally Grid-Connected Customer Base has grown from approximately 180,000 Customers in 2001 to 1,700,000 in 2022, including Off-Grid Customers. These are great achievements that we must celebrate as a country. This has been made able due to the commitment of H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the dedicated leadership of Electricity Regulatory Authority and the Ministry of Energy and Minerals Development.
As we promised to the People of Uganda in the NRM Manifesto 2021-2026, the NRM Government is on the right path to connect over 1,400,000 households to clean and affordable electricity. This is part of our holistic effort to fight poverty and boost local industrialization strategy-Gen Museveni stated. We are reforming the electricity Sector. I signed the Electricity (Amendment) Act 2022 and this will spur economic growth through industrialization-Gen Museveni said.
We have more electricity than we are consuming and surplus is increasing. It is good to suffer from constipation of electricity. I do not agree about those who worry about too much electricity-Gen Museveni said.
Because the NRM is determined to transform Uganda into a modern prosperous Industrial economy, the Electricity Act was amended to provide for among other things; deterrent penalties for theft of electricity and vandalism of electrical infrastructure, removal of the monopoly of the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company and Uganda Electricity Distribution Company and gives powers to the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) to classify licences and as well as increase funding of ERA from 0.3% to 0.7% from the revenues generated from the sale of electricity. The bill also sets a prison sentence of 15 years or a fine of Shs1 bn or both for vandalism of electricity infrastructure and theft of power.
As the Country celebrates the 37th Liberation Anniversary and the visionary leadership of H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni that continues to facilitate the growth of the Electricity sub-Sector, the Electricity Regulatory Authority would like to thank its esteemed stakeholders for the support accorded to it that has enabled it to undertake its mandate during the year 2022. Ugandans can look forward to these key milestones in the Electricity sub-Sector in the year 2023:
The Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) is a Statutory Body established in the year 2000, in accordance with the Electricity Act, 1999, (Chapter 145 of the Laws of Uganda) to regulate the Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Sale, Export and Import of Electrical Energy in Uganda. ERA is mandated by the Electricity Act, 1999, to issue electricity Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Sale and Import Licenses, set License conditions and ensure compliance to License conditions by Licensees. ERA is also mandated to establish a tariff structure, approve rates of charges among other functions.Eng WAKO Ziria the CEO of ERA has been vocal and visible in explaining the mandate of ERA and its strategy through publications and field based engagements.
Below we bring you the landmarks registered so far in the electricity sub-sector.
COMMISSIONING OF KARUMA HYDROPOWER PLANT
Uganda expects to add 600 MW to its Installed Generation Capacity with the commissioning of the Nwoya-based Karuma Hydropower Plant. The addition of Karuma HPP not only enhances the Country’s power generation capacity but will also strengthen and improve the stability of its Power Supply Grid. This development is expected to reduce the Country’s dependency on the Kenyan Grid in case of major power interruptions. In addition, Karuma will increase the available spinning reserve energy – providing for additional uptake of Variable Renewable Energy sources (VREs) such as Solar and wind energy that have since 2015 been licensed with careful consideration due to their intermittent nature that the Power Supply Grid could not accommodate.
Further still, Karuma HPP is among the plants with the lowest tariff at US Cents 4.97 per kilowatt hour. If fully dispatched, the plant will reduce the overall weighted average cost of generation which will lead to a reduction in the end-user tariffs. This effort to reduce the end-user tariff remains a key aspiration of the Country as an enabler of industrialization for social and economic transformation.
ACCELERATED ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY
Pursuant to the Government’s aspiration of accelerating electricity access to 60 percent by 2027, as enlisted in Vision 2040 and National Development Plan III, the Government has packaged a number of programs to accelerate electricity access in the country. These include:
The hybrid customer connection financing Framework
Under this framework, the Government has reduced the cost of a no-pole new customer connection from UGX 720,883 to UGX 470,000 through a subsidy of UGX 250,883 for each no-pole connection. In addition to the subsidy, the Government of Uganda through the Uganda Development Bank has provided a credit line of UGX 270,000 for those who are unable to pay a lump sum of UGX 470,000. Therefore, a customer that is located near an electricity pole can now make a down payment of UGX 200,000 to get connected to electricity and clear the balance of UGX 270,000 through a 15 percent charge on their energy purchases over a period of eight years. This Framework is expected to enable more Ugandans to get connected to electricity in 2023.
GET-ACCESS
The government of Uganda on 13th December 2022 launched a EUR 35 million Get-Access Project to be implemented for a duration of seven (7) years with the procurement of Developers planned to commence in 2023. The project funds are provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation (BMZ) and the European Union (EU), through the German Development Bank (KFW). The project consists of 150 Mini- Grids to provide clean energy to areas far from the main grid with approximately 5 to 6 MWp total installed capacity across Uganda.
Energy Access Scale-up Project (EASP)
The government of Uganda with support from the World Bank, is to implement the Energy Access Scale-up Project (EASP) project to support over 1,360,000 households, refugees, and host communities to get connected to electricity under the Electricity Connection Policy (ECP).
Productive Use of Electricity
In addition to accelerating access, in line with the Parish Development Model that targets to eradicate poverty and improve livelihood through the social and economic transformation of communities, the Electricity sub-Sector has established special tariff packages to make electricity more affordable and ensure it is utilized productively. These include:
- A Tariff of 5 US Cents per kilowatt hour for Industrial parks that are willing to increase production capacity to maintain their monthly billing invoice without affecting the financial sustainability of the Electricity Supply Industry.
- UGX 451.4 for institutions such as schools, hospitals, and prisons, among other high consumers. Over 500 institutions will be supported to fully transition from the use of biomass energy sources such as firewood and charcoal to cooking using electricity. This will in turn grow demand and translate into a reduction in power tariffs.
Environmental Conservation
At the start of 2022, a Cooking Tariff of UGX 412 was established to encourage domestic consumers to shift from the use of biomass cooking energy sources to electricity. Under this framework, domestic consumers access 70 Units of Electricity every month at a reduced price to enable them to cook with electricity. The move is geared towards minimizing the reliance on biomass energy sources and conserving the environment. This framework, once embraced, will see a growth in domestic demand for electricity in the forthcoming year.
In the same spirit, in 2023, the Authority will implement Phase IV of its tree planting project with the restoration of 15 Ha of forest cover along the River Nile. The activity targets to protect the integrity of the forests along catchment areas to ensure the sustainability of hydropower generation that contributes almost 89 percent to the Country’s Energy mix.
ESTABLISHMENT OF UPCOUNTRY REGIONAL OFFICES
In a bid to extend its services closer to the consumers and heighten its supervision of licensed electricity service providers, ERA has commenced the process of establishing regional offices beginning with the Gulu and Mbarara Districts regional offices in 2023.
HOST OF THE INDEPENDENT REGULATORY BOARD (IRB) OF THE EASTERN AFRICA POWER POOL
Uganda was recently overwhelmingly voted by the members of the Eastern Africa Power pool to host the regional offices of the Independent Regulatory Board (IRB) in Kampala. The IRB is a regional institution established in 2005 to coordinate cross-border power trade and grid interconnection among nations of the Eastern Africa region. Hosting its Secretariat, among other benefits, provides Uganda with the opportunity to build expertise and enable it to steer the agenda of the Body and take a lead role in developing the regional power pool.
Message to Ugandans
As the regulator of the electricity supply industry in the country, it is our duty to encourage electricity users to take up the opportunities that the sector is bringing their way for socio-economic transformation. We advise the public to report any acts of vandalism of electricity infrastructure to mitigate its negative impact on the economy in general and on the power supply reliability and the Operation and Maintenance costs in particular.
We continue to look forward to the wise leadership of H.E. the President of the Republic of Uganda and our line Minister of Energy and Mineral Development in serving electricity customers and all our esteemed stakeholders.
ERA continues to be the best electricity service regulator on the African continent as attested by the electricity regulation Index studies conducted by the African Development Bank for the fifth consecutive year in 2022. ERA is a recipient of the 2022 Uganda Responsible Investment Mark of Excellence Award as the Best Regulatory Authority in Uganda. Recognized by Public Opinions.