Led by local electricity distributor, Umeme, the companies will pilot the project dubbed Utilities 2.0 Twaake, in conjunction with several leading Uganda-based distributed renewable energy companies, to provide affordable, reliable, and clean power for all.
A coalition of global energy sector leaders coordinated by Power for All and funded by The Rockefeller Foundation has launched an integrated energy pilot in Uganda aimed at increasing power access and reduce the cost of connection.
Led by local electricity distributor, Umeme, the companies will pilot the project dubbed Utilities 2.0 Twaake, in conjunction with several leading Uganda-based distributed renewable energy companies, to provide affordable, reliable, and clean power for all.
Other private sector companies are Africa Mini-Grid Developers Association (AMDA), CLASP, CrossBoundary, East African Power, EnerGrow, Equatorial Power, Nxt Grid, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), University of Massachusetts Amherst, Duke and Makerere Universities.
The project also involves providing asset financing which is aimed at studying the effect of asset ownership on electricity consumption.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development says it plans to increase access to power from the current 52% to 60% by 2025 and 100% by 2030.
Currently, 28% of Ugandans access to power on the national grid, with another one quarter using other sources like standalone solar systems.
Uganda remains among the countries with some of the lowest electricity accessibility, requiring connecting 10 million people today if the country is to meet the World Bank universal access measure.
According to the Bank, among the 20 countries with the largest access deficits, Uganda, Kenya and Bangladesh showed the greatest improvement in electricity access since 2010, with annual electrification growth rates above 3 percentage points.
This was largely driven by an integrated approach that combined grid, mini-grid and on-grid solar electrification.
It is estimated that with the average cost of grid extension connection at $1,400 (5 Million Shillings) if grid extension was the sole method of service provision, the required investment would likely be $7 billion.The Utilities 2.0 Twaake pilot is designed to cut this cost by at least half, by relying on integrated energy, according to a joint statement.Integrated energy combines centralized and decentralized technology (including solar home systems, mini-grids, grid, and smart grid systems).According to recent studies by Power for All and Duke University, connection costs can be reduced by 50 percent by reducing upfront capital cost by leveraging a utility’s ability to access cheaper capital while increasing the value of the customers through productive use applications that drive […]