UEDCL Connects Over 640,000 New Customers in Half a Year
The Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) has registered a major milestone, adding 648,404 new customers to the national grid in just six months since it assumed operations from Umeme.
The update was shared by UEDCL Managing Director, Paul Mwesigwa, during the State House Investors’ Protection Unit (SHIPU) meeting held on Tuesday.
According to him, the company’s customer base has grown from 1,782,085 in April to 2,430,489 today.
Other performance indicators show notable progress: households connected to the grid rose from 1,687,267 to 2,327,898; transmission grid length increased from 3,431 km to 5,140 km; while Uganda’s total installed power generation capacity grew from 1,362 megawatts to 2,049 megawatts. Energy losses have also reduced from 19.1% to 16.8%.
“The government took a fundamental decision to take over all the privately operated concessionaires,” Mwesigwa said.
“That is a fundamental achievement; in that regard, the government has actually scored very well.”
He further commended the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) for accrediting UEDCL, noting that the move has accelerated the pace of new customer connections.
The SHIPU meeting, now in its fifth round, was chaired by Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) Executive Director Patrick Birungi, and drew leaders from several agencies including Benson Turamye (PPDA), Prof. Bruce Kirenga (Makerere College of Health Sciences), Desmond Tutu Opio (UECCC), Mr. Kule Walid (URSB), Edward Katende (UDF), and Osborn Turyasingura (Special Interest Groups Secretariat).
During the discussions, Opio revealed that UECCC is targeting 353,000 additional households with renewable energy by 2025.
He disclosed that over USD 10 million has been mobilised from the World Bank and development partners such as GIZ and the Dutch government, channelled through 27 financial institutions and 87 solar firms to deploy sh134 billion into off-grid energy solutions.
Initiatives already underway include the distribution of solar lanterns, home systems, biomass cookstoves, water pumps, and refrigerators in districts such as Mayuge and Pakwach.
Turamye raised concern about vandalism as one of the main threats to rural electrification. “It is a takeaway that needs follow-up,” he stressed.
Kule commended UEDCL’s swift progress. “The results are really encouraging and this great achievement needs to be publicised on all mass media for the government to be visible,” he said.
Closing the session, Birungi called for stronger public engagement on government programs:
“By the end of this month, we shall have the economic forum on NBS TV, and in mid-October, we shall have the economic summit on NTV.” He added that conversations were ongoing with New Vision and UBC to amplify awareness of the country’s development achievements.
