Uganda's electricity demand lags behind as Karuma doubles generation

The new plant has so far boosted the national grid with 300 megawatts while more is expected to be added by August 2024. The Assistant Commissioner of Energy Efficiency and Conservation Department, Engineer David Birimumaaso says the commissioning of Karuma has been pushed back from August this year to next year when all the units will be ready for switch-on.

In light of this development, which is estimated to reach 2,000 megawatts, he says that there's a need to boost efforts to ensure higher demand for electricity.

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According to the Auditor General, Uganda is spending billions of shillings in energy generation but most of it is not evacuated. By 2022, at least Shs1.4 trillion had been paid to 13 generation companies over 15 years for power not used.

This expenditure has been blamed on the ‘take-or-pay’ system which had been credited for the high investments in the sector but was costing the public dozens of billions of Shillings per year.

Birimumaaso admitted that one of the challenges to increasing the demand was the high cost of electricity, with, for example, households paying about 750 Shillings per kilowatt hour (20 US cents). He said that it is challenging to try and meet the demands for lower costs while allowing investors to get their capital back.

He was speaking ahead of the forthcoming first Power & Elec Expo Uganda next week.

The expo, is an international event organized by Mumbai-based Exhibitions & Trade Services India Private Limited, in partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development. The expo is aimed at exposing Uganda to new innovations in the energy sector, as many exhibitors are expected from the more developed countries, including generators, vendors, financiers, and equipment suppliers, according to Vijayanka Brighuvanshi, the company’s director.