President Museveni launching the Rural Electrification Agency in Uganda (PHOTO/Courtesy). KAMPALA – The central theme for the 2016 – 2021 NRM manifesto is “taking Uganda to modernity through job creation and inclusive development”. The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has been able to contribute towards this central theme that seeks to take Uganda to a competitive middle-income country from a predominantly low-income society in the following ways; extensive electricity network extension, geographical equitable distribution of electricity and initiating a free connection program, all of which will ensure socio-economic development and thus improving the quality of life of Ugandans. The Agency has boosted the power supply quality through system improvement, facilitated the development of local industries including tourism through the deliberate provision of electricity to productive activities and areas with high economic growth potential, built local technical capacity and facilitated local industries for the electricity subsector, supported public-private participation in electrification and contributed towards a resilient environment and societies.
To date, the Agency has realized the construction of about 15,000km of Medium Voltage (MV) power lines and over 10,000 km of Low Voltage (LV) distribution power lines. This has greatly contributed to the connections of over 1,000,000 customers onto the national grid and an increment in the rural electrification access rate from 1% in 2001 to over 20% in 2020. Grid extension to the remaining two on land district headquarters, that is Kotido and Kaboong, is in the final stages of implementation while the island of Buvuma District is awaiting funding in the next financial year.
In addition, about 6,000km of MV power lines and 5,000km of LV power lines are under implementation while 1,500 km of MV power lines and 2,000km of LV power lines are under procurement.
In October 2019, the Project for “Bridging the Demand-Supply Balance Gap Through the Accelerated Rural Electrification Program”, that is electrification of all administrative headquarters including sub-county headquarters, town councils and division headquarters commenced, with contractor mobilization to site, survey and construction. Under the project, over 4,000km of medium voltage networks and over 6,000km of low voltage network shall be constructed, electrifying 620 administrative centers (558 sub-county headquarters, 10 Divisional and 52 unserved Town Council headquarters countrywide. Currently, implementation is on-going in the 22 districts forming the first phase. Technical commissioning has already taken place on some of the schemes in Kiboga, Kumi, Kapchorwa and Kyegegwa. Some of the Rural Electrification Agency employees (PHOTO/Courtesy). The Agency […]