A cross-section of customers and development partners have applauded Umeme Limited for investing in creating improved and reliable access to electricity over the years. 

The speakers who among other manufacturers, ICT companies, maize millers, and the International Financial Corporation (IFC)- the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, said there was visible progress over the last 10 years that Umeme has been in charge of power distribution in the country, but urged for more investments across the board to make power more accessible and affordable to more Ugandans.

According to company reports, Umeme has since 2005, when its 20-year concession started, invested over USD 700m (sh2.5 trillion) in the distribution network to ensure safe, efficient, and reliable electricity supply to factories, businesses, and communities. 

This investment has increased the distribution network by 173% from 16,000 kilometres in 2005 to 44,000 km while distribution transformers have more than doubled from 6,000 to 14,000- a growth of 133%, leading to a 245.5% growth in distribution transformer capacity from 550MVA to 1900 MVA. 

Distribution energy losses have also reduced from 38% in 2005 to 17%- a reduction of 55.5% points. 

The number of customers has grown by more than five times from 292,237 in 2005 to 1,526,000 in June 2021, a growth of 422.2%. 

As a result, electricity distribution efficiency has greatly improved from 50% to 85% as of 2019, through a reduction of energy losses to 17% from 38% of 2005, coupled with increased revenue collections, currently at 99% from 80% in 2005. 

These improvements have benefited the sector and the consumers to an estimated saving of USD170m per annum.

Anil K. Bansal, the Deputy Plant Manager at the Roofings Group-owned Roofing Rolling Mills in the Kampala Industrial Business Park (KIBP), Namanve, says that the quality of power supplied by Umeme has greatly improved and as such improving the business’ competitiveness. 

“Umeme is playing a critical role in this plant by supplying us with good quality and stable power. That's so important for our production because we can adjust our production capacities to produce consistently the highest level of quality,” Bansal emphasizes.

“The power quality is fantastic. I would say it's very stable, good quality power. So as a customer, we are really happy.”  

Duncan Tebaggalika, the Assistant Manager, Electrical at Roofings Rolling Mills adds that since the plant was commissioned in 2013, the quality of power, was unreliable, but a joint solution was created between Roofings, Umeme and the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA), the sector’s regulator. 

“Around 2015 ERA and Umeme came on board, and they proposed the Statcom project, and it was implemented in 2017. So, we've been running it for over now three years. It is a very good project that has done us very well,” he says of the power quality. 

Roofings Rolling Mills is one of the largest consumers of electricity with a load requirement of 20 MegaWatts of electricity and consumes between 70 to 80 million units of electricity in a year. 

According to Selestino Babungi, the Umeme Managing Director the improved power quality has been as a Umeme’s consistent investment in the KIBP and the surrounding industrial areas― that make up the manufacturing hub of the country. 

For example, in 2020, Umeme injected USD2.37 million to evacuate power from the UETCL Substation, at Namanve to enhance power supply quality to the KIBP, where Roofings is located. 

The project included the construction of underground cabling works, with automated Ring Main Units linking the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) Namanve South and North substations. 

These projects have greatly stabilized and improved the quality of supply to industrial customers in KIBP and surrounding areas. 

In the nearby Mbalala Industry Area, Umeme also invested in interconnecting feeders to evacuate power from the UETCL Mukono North substation, to improve power supply to the Mukono Industrial Area in Mbalala along Mukono-Jinja Road highway. 

This project feeds, among others, the Tian Tang Industrial Complex, Kampala Cement Factory as well as the new National Water and Sewerage Corporate (NWSC) plant at Katosi on the shores of Lake Victoria.  

The above projects which were all completed in 2020, are part of Umeme’s USD83.3 million (UGX310 billion) 2020 capacity enhancement and network stabilisation investments projects across the country. 

James Byaruhanga, the General Manager of the just-launched Raxio Data Centre, also in Namanve, which consumes up to 4MW, also speaks highly of both Umeme’s quality of power supply.

“Our connection to the new Namanve substation is a lot more stable than the previous one to the Kiwanga substation. However, Raxio secured a Ring Main Unit from Umeme and that means we are connected to both Kiwanga and Namanve substations. This means we have a combination of the 2 lines which gives us a lot more uptime,” Byaruhanga says. 

Byaruhanga is particularly happy that Umeme was able to connect them in July 2020, at the height of the first Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

“The process was quite good and seamless, to be honest, the only real delay was the importation of the RMUs which I would say might have been due to planning and logistical issues. We also got very good support in the process of securing rebates from ERA. No complaints,” he adds.

  Raxio Data Centre Ltd in the Kampala Industrial Business Park (KIBP) Namanve is Uganda’s first privately run tier 3 data centre in the country.

Data Centres require 99.99% uptime and therefore Umeme had to go out of its way to supply a set of SCADA ready Ring Main Units (RMUs) and a metering unit.

According to Selestino Babungi- investments in the KIPB, also include an underground 25km network within the business park that will enable industries within the park to plug onto the grid with little interruptions from human-caused network disruptions. 

The 2,200-acre business park uses up to about 100MW- which is just about 15% of all the national current peak demand.

As of October 2020, according to the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) which runs the park, sixty-two (62) industries were in operation, directly employing 16,000 Ugandans while 141 projects had commenced construction. 84 companies were still in the pre-start phase while another 28 have just been allocated land.

Industrial users account for about 56.6% of all power sold by Umeme.

Umeme’s 16-year journey in Uganda

Caroline Twine, the General Manager, Global Village Tea Co. Ltd in Kyenjojo in an interview, said that Umeme has invested in a substation close to the tea factory which has greatly improved the quality of the power supply.

“Before Umeme brought a substation closer to us, there were lots of power breakdowns. When the substation was brought nearer to us, the reaction to the breakdowns improved. Now there is a timely response to the breakdowns. And there's good communication between Global Village Tea, and the Umeme Management, they always inform us in time before a scheduled outage so that we can decide on how to run our machinery on alternative sources of energy,” she says.

Francis Nafuye, a grains miller and owner of Mbale Millers Ltd also notes that improved quality and reliability of power has had an impact on his bottom line. 

“They expanded the Bugema substation, and that's when we started experiencing stable power. It has helped us. We don't have pressure on our transformers, and the rate of going off has been reduced. Now that they've added more transformers, the services have expanded and more customers have come in, and even our earnings have also increased,” he says. 

Umeme moves to fix power problems in Northern Uganda  

In an interview, Mr Babungi says that Umeme is investing significantly in northern Uganda to create a permanent solution to the unique challenges that have persisted in Northern Uganda.  

“We have rehabilitated the Tororo-Opuyo-Lira-Gulu transmission line. We have upgraded the transmission line to pylons to replace the wooden poles in some parts that were susceptible to rotting during the rainy season and bush-burning in the dry season,” Babungi says. 

He adds: “Last year we invested more than USD2 million in upgrading the Gulu-substation. It is now bigger, with a much bigger capacity. We also installed capacitor banks.” 

“We want to ringfence Gulu and Northern Uganda and fix the challenges we have been having once and for all. We project that when Karuma is commissioned and integrated into our Gulu feed, the issues of Gulu will have been significantly addressed,” he says optimistically. 

And results are beginning to manifest.

For example, at a recent stakeholder meeting in Gulu City, the Mayor, Mr Alfred Okwonga says that there has been a notable change.  

“Over time we have seen the services of Umeme improving. At least as I talk now, I'm seeing some improvement in power outages and we are also seeing the team working on the ground improving on the substation at Layibi,” he told the stakeholders meeting 

Denis Ondongpiny, the Resident City Commissioner of Gulu City also applauds Umeme over the improved quality of service.

“I'm glad to say that the management of Umeme has listened to our cries, and they have made great improvements. Since May when I was appointed RCC, power has been generally very, very, very stable. Even where they are hitches, the engineers of Umeme always act very fast and correct,” he says.

“I would like to call upon development partners and investors and assure them that power is now stable in Gulu. Please come and open your businesses in Gulu City, so that you help to create employment for our unemployed youths,” he optimistically says.

Commenting about the impact of Umeme on Uganda’s power sector and the IFC’s involvement with Uganda’s power sector, Bernadette Tabeko, Investment Officer - Infrastructure, Sub-Saharan Africa, IFC World Bank Group said that Umeme is one of the exemplary utility companies on how to finance and build sustainable energy sectors in the developing world.

 “Uganda has been a pioneer in Sub Saharan Africa when it comes to the private sector, investment in the energy and making the power sector financially sustainable,” she said in an interview. 

Public-private partnerships are often necessary to achieve specific objectives and, in a sector, where there is high regulatory constraints or insufficient economic incentives to attract investors. 

So, the World Bank Group has been involved in Uganda electricity sector since the mid-2000s, where it has supported the government in very bold reforms. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is the private arm of the World Bank Group is also a long-standing partner in the Uganda electricity sector, where we have approximately USD300 million invested in generation and distribution over the past 15 years. 

“This remarkable progress has raised the Ugandan power sector as a flagship example, in Sub Saharan Africa. There is a World Bank Group study that has recognized Uganda as one of the only two countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with a financially sustainable power sector,” she adds.

 She said the Umeme model is proof of a well-managed framework with the ability to mobilise private capital. 

“We are proud. By supporting Umeme we are supporting a true local champion because Umeme is largely owned by Ugandans―more than a third of the capital; and managed by a team of various experienced Ugandan professionals,” reiterates Ms Tabeko. 

“We need to do more investment in transmission; more investments in load growth will be critical to be able to absorb and to uptake the additional generation capacity. So, these are all areas where the private sector could play a key role,” she adds. 

16 years into its 20-year concession, Babungi says that Umeme is still committed to Uganda—powering communities, business, and industry for prosperity.

“This we shall continue to drive, through increased supply of safe and reliable electricity through an efficient tariff-reducing distribution network. Uganda is our home and being Uganda’s invaluable partner in transforming the energy sector as an engine of increased household incomes and improved quality of life is a responsibility that the men and women at Umeme, are proud to wake up to each day,” he concludes.