1.3 million households to get connected to the national grid

The government has officially rolled out the Electricity Access Scale-up Project (EASP), a $638 million initiative that will connect over 1.3 million rural households to the national power grid.

The project, co-funded with the World Bank, aims to increase energy access for households, enterprises, and institutions through grid and off-grid connections. writes GEOFREY SERUGO.

On February 2, hundreds of residents from Mitooma gathered to witness the project launch, where the first 100 homes under EASP were connected to the national power grid. During the launch, the minister for Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa, noted that the project will also positively impact the environment, employing solar technologies to reduce dependence on biomass.

“I am in charge of protecting power and improving the use of power, especially in green cooking. Therefore, as I develop the petroleum sector, I am mindful of the gas that is associated with petroleum. We have started drilling, and we have reached 25 wells in Tilenga and another 11 on the Kingfisher side. They are very promising, and we are going to start using associated gas,” she said.

On his part, Thomas Tayebwa, the deputy speaker of parliament, hailed the government and all development partners for what he termed a game-changer project. He further appealed to the Energy Ministry to sort out the problem of load-shedding.

“We have been finding it difficult to explain to people who have no electricity that Uganda produces excess electricity. Every financial year, parliament appropriates hundreds of billions of shillings to pay for electricity that is not consumed,” he said.

“It is extremely painful; so, I’m loving this EASP initiative because the electricity we have been paying for without consuming is now going to be consumed. It’s going to be a game-changer in the region and the country. Meanwhile, Nankabirwa assured Ugandans that the government will continue to expand the transmission and distribution infrastructure by constructing power lines and substations.

The transmission network has increased from 1,132 kilometres in 2005 to the current 4,355 kilometres, while the distribution network length has increased from 6,496 kilometres in 2005 to the current 76,922 kilometres.

“As we speak, we have expanded the backbone of electricity. That means that connectivity is going to be easier. And the government has come out to help you with connectivity. Power is not going to be free, but the government is determined to help you connect. I’ve seen homes where they are next to a pole, but somebody is still in darkness. That means it is not cheap to connect.”

Meanwhile, Irene Batebe, the Energy ministry permanent secretary, said all connections are free in line with Uganda’s free electricity connections policy.

“Both households that don’t require a pole and those that require one pole will be connected for free. The country’s current electrification rate stands at 58 per cent (off-grid and on-grid) and the target is to achieve universal access by 2030. The EASP will contribute significantly to this goal,” she told The Observer in an interview.

Some of the project beneficiaries expressed excitement, and they thanked the government for the initiative.

“We are so happy that, at last, we have electricity. We have been going through a lot of problems, but we are so grateful for this project,” Johnson Mugisha, a resident in Mitooma, said.

“We have been in darkness, but now the whole place is lit. The project is largely going to help our children revise their books at night and perform well.”

SOLAR BOOST

Meanwhile, the Energy ministry also launched a partnership with a company called d.light to supply solar equipment in off-grid power areas at 50 per cent, where half is contributed by the government and the other half by the beneficiary.