IEEJ:August 2015

UGANDA COUNTRY REPORT;ENERGY POLICY
Presented at
JICA TOKYO TRAINING; ENERGY POLICY
31st May 2015 – 20th June 2015
By

MARTIN MUTABINGWA
Electrical Engineer, Electric Power Department
Minister of Energy and Mineral Development,
UGANDA1OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION• Country profile• Scope of energy sector in Uganda• Institutional frame work
• Policy frame work
• Energy Supply & Demand• Outlook at Supply & Demand• Challenges in energy sector policy• Training needs
2Country profile•Uganda is a land locked
country in East Africa.
• It also lies within the region
known as the Nile basin andhas a generally equatorialclimate.
•With a total population of
37.58 million (as per 2014census), Uganda has a GDP(PPP) per capita of $1,414 andGDP (Nominal) per capita of$589.

1.0 INTRODUCTION
The scope of the Energy Sector• Power Subsector• Power Generation- Transmission- Distribution/ Rural Electrification• Renewable Energy- Biomass (Wood & Charcoal, Cogeneration)- Small Hydro, Solar, Wind, Geothermal• Atomic Energy- Nuclear for Power Production• Energy Efficiency– This is cross cutting for all forms of Energy.

4Institutional framework

5The key priority in the Energy
Sector• To increase electricity generation capacityand develop the transmission network;• To increase access to modern energy
services through rural electrification andrenewable energy development;• to promote the efficient utilization ofenergy resources and reduction in power
losses;6

Policy framework

2.1 Legal Framework

The Electricity Act, 1999:
The salient features of the Act are to provide theenabling legislation for:• Liberalising the electricity industry;• Unbundling of the Uganda Electricity Board into
three entities namely generation, transmission
and distribution;• The establishment of Electricity Regulatory
Authority (the “ERA”) to regulate the sector;
72.1 Salient features of the ActCont’d• The establishment of the Rural Electrification
Fund (the “REF”), with the main objective ofenhancing rural access to electricity; and• The establishment of the Electricity Dispute
Tribunal (the “EDT”) that has jurisdiction to hearand determine electricity sector disputes which
are referred to it.

82.2 The Energy Policy for Uganda 2002
Policy Goal
To meet the energy needs of Uganda’s population
for social and economic development in anenvironmentally sustainable manner;• To establish the availability, potential and demand of thevarious energy resources in the country• To increase access to modern affordable and reliableenergy services as a contribution to poverty eradication• To improve energy governance and administration• To stimulate economic dev’t• To manage energy-related environmental impacts
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2.3 Renewable Energy Policy for
Uganda 2007

• It aims to provide a framework to increase insignificant proportions the contribution ofrenewable energy in the energy mix.
• Main features:
Introduced the feed in tariffs.
Standardized Power Purchase Agreements.
Obligation of fossils fuel companies to mix products withbiofuels up to 20%.
Tax incentives on renewable energy technologies.
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Supply and Demand• Biomass constitutes about 93% of energy
consumption mainly in traditional form.
• Hydropower; out of a potential of over
3000MW, less than 700MW has been
exploited• Peat• Renewable(solar, geothermal, small hydros,wind)11

Supply and DemandPlant

Installed capacity Current Generation(MW)Capacity1

Nalubaale and Kiira

3802102Bujagali HPP

2502503Thermal Plants

1001004

Cogeneration by Sugar Plants 31.5155

Mini Hydros

64.5

30TOTALS

826605• Peak demand is currently at about 480 - 490 MW• On average the power demand has been growing at
10%.
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Outlook at supply and demand
Given the growing demand, Uganda has laid out strategies
in line with the energy policies and energy sector polices toincrease access to power as well as increase power supply.
a) Development of Large hydropower Projects
There are already a number of large hydropower projects
being developed in line with the national development plan.
Currently under construction are;
•Karuma Hydropower plant – 600MW•Isimba Hydropower project – 183MW
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Outlook at supply and demandb) Access to Rural Electrification•The policy has favoured the implementation of a number ofrural electrification schemes and increased access tomodern energy. The main targets are district headquarters,
production areas and communities which create nuclei forrural social and economic transformation.
•The delivery mode includes, grid extensions, isolated grid,solar PV for institutions (health centers and schools) andhouseholds.
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Outlook at supply and demandc) Renewable Energy and energy Efficiency•About 50 small hydropower sites with a total
capacity of 164MW.
•Co-generation with sugar factories•Solar photovoltaic systems•Supply of energy saving equipment (efficient
lighting tech, efficient cook stoves, ovens, soft
starters and capacitor banks)d) Nuclear energy

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Challenges in energy Sector• Capital intensive, long payback periods.
• Policy direction for nuclear, solar, geothermaland gas.
• Inadequate data and information on thepotential of various energy sources.
• Inexistence of gas infrastructure to support
the development and use of gas• Other renewable energy sources thoughabundant have not been fully exploited16

Way Forward
Since the last policies were established, anumber of developments have arisen and thishas thus instigated a process of reviewing theexisting energy policies to cater for the current
energy position of the country;•Discovery of Oil and Gas:
•New financing options:•Sustainable Energy for All Initiative:•The Vision 2040;
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Training Points Of Interest• Monitoring and evaluation mechanism withclear milestones and analytical tools toobserve implementation of policy• Demand Forecasting• Environment preservation.

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Contact : report@tky.ieej.or.jp