The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Hon. Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, has commended the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) for its impressive performance since taking over the national electricity distribution network following the expiry of the UMEME concession earlier this year.
Addressing the media at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala, Nankabirwa, who was flanked by senior management teams from UEDCL and the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA), described the end of the 20-year UMEME concession as a “turning point” that has enabled the government to accelerate infrastructure upgrades and expand access to electricity.
“Earlier this year, the UMEME concession that was really constraining us from doing something big finally came to an end, and I commend UEDCL for doing a great job in refurbishing the systems and establishing new ones,” she said.
According to the Minister, since UEDCL assumed full control of the distribution network, Uganda has registered over 140,000 new customer connections to the national grid.
She noted that significant upgrades have been completed across key substations, including Kakiri—expanded from 10MW to 20MW, Kabale—from 2.5MW to 5MW, and Masaka Central—from 5MW to 7MW.
UEDCL has also replaced 206 faulty transformers, secured land for new substations in Magigye and Kawempe, and drawn up plans to refurbish nine existing substations, inject 518 new transformers, and expand 40 medium-voltage lines before the end of 2025.
“Substations like Namungona, Mutundwe, and Namugongo, some of which are older than 90% of our population, are undergoing critical upgrades to meet the country’s growing power demands,” Nankabirwa revealed.
She further emphasized that the utility has made remarkable progress in improving efficiency and financial performance, noting that UEDCL is fully up to date on payments and even recorded a 102% revenue collection rate in one month, recovering outstanding debts.
Nankabirwa also praised UEDCL for sourcing materials locally, a move that supports the government’s “Buy Uganda, Build Uganda” (BUBU) policy.
The Minister urged Ugandans to take advantage of the ongoing “Light ku Layisi” program, which offers electricity connections at a subsidized fee of Shs 30,000, and warned those engaged in illegal power connections to embrace the “WETEREZeeee” initiative to avoid prosecution.
Highlighting the persistent challenge of vandalism, Nankabirwa said damage to power infrastructure remains one of the major causes of power disruptions. She called on communities to protect electricity installations and report wrongdoers, as UEDCL works to stabilize the system.
“UEDCL has asked Ugandans to give it two years to completely fix the ongoing power outages across the country,” she concluded.