More than 300 000 people in Uganda are set to be connected to electricity this year, thanks to a range of capex projects planned by the country’s largest electricity distributor.

Umeme Limited has received the go-ahead from the Electricity Regulatory Authority to allocate US$83.3 million to address six focus areas – energy losses and improving operational efficiency; an increase in load demand; reliability of power supply; power generation evacuation and supply to the grid; network systems automation; and network protection and security.

According to the company, the capex projects include converting 150 000 customers to prepaid metering in an effort to curtail losses and improve operational efficiency in customer service.

The projects are part of a drive to meet targets outlined in the government’s Electricity Connections Policy – 60% electricity access by 2027, and 80% by 2040. Uganda’s current electricity access stands at just 28%.

14 July 2020
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