Uganda spends less than a third of $608m electricity fund

Uganda has used less than a third of a $608m (about 2.2tn shilling) World Bank fund meant to connect millions of people to electricity, three years into a five-year project, a government report to parliament has shown.

The report, from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, was received by parliament on 5 August. It says $190.7m had been spent by the end of June 2026. The project is due to close on 30 June 2027, leaving about 10 months to spend the rest and meet its targets.

The Electricity Access Scale-up Project aims to make about 1.5 million new electricity connections, both on and off the grid, and to power schools, health centres and areas hosting refugees. So far, the connection figures fall well short.

Umeme, the private company that ran Uganda’s power network for 20 years, made 155,088 of the 663,500 connections it was set before its contract ended. The state-owned Uganda Electricity Distribution Company (UEDCL) took over distribution on 1 April 2025. UEDCL was set a further 896,435 connections but had made just 79,040 by June 2026. Between them, the two companies account for about 234,000 connections.

The gap matters in a country where most people are still not connected. About 40% of Ugandans had no access to modern electricity in 2025, and a national survey cited by the research group Afrobarometer found fewer than three in 10 are linked to the national grid. Rural households, who make up three-quarters of the population, are the least likely to have power.

The ministry blames the slow pace on local suppliers who won contracts to provide connection materials but did not deliver on time. It says UEDCL has now been allowed to buy from foreign suppliers. It also predicts a sharp rise in the rate of connections, from 30,000 in August 2026 to more than 40,000 a month after that, although similar forecasts have been made before. People seeking a government-funded connection pay a subsidised fee of 26,550 shillings, about $7.

The report also points to a shortfall in payments to people whose land is affected by the new power lines. The ministry says it has secured 18bn shillings ($4.8m) of the roughly 40bn it needs to compensate them.

There has been more progress on other parts of the project. The ministry says more than 100 agreements have been signed with companies to sell subsidised solar systems and clean-cooking equipment, and a price-subsidy scheme has run since November 2024. Forty water schemes are working, 45 schools have been chosen for electrification and 172 health centres identified. Electric pressure cookers are already in use at Kabale and Fort Portal referral hospitals.

Plans to extend the grid — thousands of kilometres of new line and about 1,200 transformers across more than 100 districts, much of it in refugee-hosting areas such as Adjumani, Yumbe and Kiryandongo — are largely still at the procurement stage. Contracts for bulk materials are not due to be signed until later in the current financial year.

The government has said it wants every Ugandan to have access to electricity by 2030, and the scale-up project is one of its main tools for getting there. With most of the money unspent and the deadline approaching, the report leaves open whether the targets can be met in time.