Powering Prosperity: An Urgent Need for Reforms in the National Strategy for Affordable and Stable Electricity in Uganda
The core of Uganda’s productive sector, its SMEs and informal enterprises which employ the majority of the workforce is particularly vulnerable to frequent outages and some of the highest tariffs in East Africa, stifling growth and competitiveness. While the country has commendably expanded its generation capacity to approximately 2,053 Mega Watts (MW), predominantly from hydropower, this supply is underutilized due to transmission bottlenecks and a fragile distribution network. The recent transition from the private concessionaire, Umeme, back to full State control under Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) has exposed systemic vulnerabilities, with service reliability reportedly deteriorating and worsening power interruptions for businesses and households alike.