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The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development has recommended the halting of new investments by energy distributor, Umeme ahead of the expiry of its 25year concession in 2025.
The Minister of State for Energy, Hon Sidronius Okaasai Opolot said this during a meeting with members of the Committee of Environment and Natural Resources to respond to issues raised during the scrutiny of the budget framework paper for the financial year 2022/23.
Okaasai said that as Ugandans demand for electricity infrastructure, that has got an impact on the final buyout of Umeme,there is a need to watch out for new investments made.
“To manage the concession buyout and minimise suffocating expenditure of Government when the Umeme concession ends, it is important that additional investments by Umeme be regulated and or halted to reduce on the final buyout amount,” Okaasai told the committee.
He added that Government should start providing annually for buyout amounts.
Umeme intends to invest in extending the distribution of power which includes buying transformers, poles and construction of substations with the hope that their concession which is nearing an end can be extended.
As of December 2018, Umeme’s capital investments amounted close to Shs700 billion and yet they had projected to invest Shs1.5 trillion.
Although Umeme wants the concession renewed since they cannot get investments from abroad, Government is now turning its focus into public financing of electricity.
According to Okaasai, this is intended to reduce the high costs of electricity.
“The high costs are driven by the private sector participation especially generation. Public financing of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution will be required if the final consumer prices are to be reduced in the medium to the long term,” Okaasai said.The unit cost of generation of power averages US$8.8 and final costs including transmission and distribution averages 12 cents.The Energy Ministry is also giving incentives to industries in the different industrial parks in the country in form of electricity subsidies.According to Paul Okitoi, the Commissioner of Policy and Planning, Government provided for the reduction of power costs in industrial parks to stimulate production.However, members of the committee tasked Government to provide subsidies for local companies that are outside the industrial parks.Sheema Municipality MP, Hon Dickson Kateshumbwasaid it is unfair to provide power at five cents in the industrial parks, and then companies in Tororo or Kisoro pay a higher price.“Are you looking at industrial parks or manufacturers? Someone should not be penalised because […]
