Uganda’s Rural Electrification Agency, a semi-autonomous agency within the Ministry of Energy, manages a fund designed to bring reliable electricity to rural areas and is playing a key role in enhancing Uganda’s appeal for investors in energy projects.
The agency has succeeded in bringing electricity to around 5% of Uganda’s rural areas which previously had no access to power supplies and it aims to increase this percentage to 22% by 2012. The agency has launched a number of innovative rural-electrification projects, including a programme with the World Bank to subsidise electricity use and a pay-as-you-go system based on the model of cell-phone contracts.
The Rural Electrification Agency has received support from the governments of Germany and Norway and welcomes more international partnerships, both with global funding organisations and with private investors. The agency has already helped to get five private rural-electrification projects off the ground. Godfrey R. Turyahikayo, Executive Director, says, “We are bringing more hours of light to people all over the country. We want to encourage more private investment in rural-electrification projects, and we want potential investors to know about the enormous potential for profits and returns that they will find here in Uganda’s energy sector.”
Serving as liaison between public and private sectors
One goal for the Rural Electrification Agency is to promote diverse sources for electricity in rural areas. Godfrey R. Turyahikayo says, “We want to demonstrate the advantages of having a number of regional operators throughout the country, each with a local presence. In addition, we want to promote public-private cooperation. The agency’s role is to serve as an intermediary between the government, which could provide subsidies for rural-energy projects, and the private sector, in order to ensure advantageous partnerships for both sides.”
The Rural Electrification Agency has already made great progress in bringing energy to rural areas and in attracting investment in rural-electrification projects, and Godfrey R. Turyahikayo has ambitious plans for the future. He says, “The agency has earned the trust of investors and the public sector, and now we are ready to move to the next level. We need to intensify connections so that the network has more value. Three years from now, we expect to have a highly developed energy-market structure with many investors who have master plans for future development. We are definitely on the right track to achieving access to reliable electricity supplies all over the country.”
Plot 10, Windsor Loop, House of Hope, 2nd Floor
P.O. Box 7317 Kampala
Tel: +256 312 31 8100
[email protected]
www.rea.or.ug
