The African Development Bank has given $100 million (about Shs350b) to the government of Uganda to extend free electricity connections.
The African Development Bank Country Manager, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, said the funds will see at least 164,077 households connected to the national grid under the free connection policy.
The government in 2018 established the Electricity Connection Policy (ECP) for a period of ten years (2018-2027) with the objective of increasing electricity access and providing cleaner energy to Ugandans.
The policy aims at addressing one of the major obstacles that have hindered increasing electricity access through subsidization of the last mile connection costs. The programme aims to drive the electrification rate to 60% by 2027.
The government through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) – now the Electricity Agency Program funds the programme, while Umeme Limited serves as one of the implementing partners.
Umeme started ECP connections in 2018, and has since connected over 270,000 customers and continues to receive new connection applications daily. The number of customers waiting for Government-funded connections are now over 220,000.
Ruth Nankabirwa, the Energy and Mineral Development Minister, said the government is committed to ensuring that Ugandans have access to clean and safe energy.
“The Government is intensifying evacuation programmes for the electricity generation and distribution to Ugandans,” she said.
Nankabirwa, however, cautioned the residents to desist from illegal connections and vandalism of the electricity network, which have led to death, destruction of property.
Blessing Nshaho, the Chief Corporate and Regulatory Officer at Umeme, who represented Selestino Babungi, the Managing Director, disclosed that the leading utility has so far completed the connection of the 22,371 consumers of the 87,500 applicants.
“We expect to complete the pending connections by the end of this year. Under Luuka District, we have so far received 500 applications from customers who are eligible to be connected under the AfDB funding, with a target of 825 connections and a target of 2,032 connections for the Greater Iganga Area,” Nshaho said.
Nshaho also urged the local leaders to sensitize the communities that they are the owners of the electricity network and by vandalizing it, unreliable power supply is a result and socio-economic transformation of the community is hampered.