Electricity rates shoot up as new year rolls in

Dec 31, 2003

Starting today, you will have to pay more for the power you consume.<br>The Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) yesterday released the new tariffs in a surprise new-year statement.

By Felix Osike

Starting today, you will have to pay more for the power you consume.
The Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) yesterday released the new tariffs in a surprise new-year statement.

Effective today, for electricity supplied to residential houses, small shops and kiosks and metered at low voltage single phase, consumers will pay sh171.4 per unit up from sh170.1. This, however, is lower than the sh195 per unit, which UEDCL had set.

Consumers in this category will pay sh50 per unit for the first 50 units.

UEDCL said the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) approved the revised rates at its 62nd meeting recently.
They were approved after consultations with stakeholders and a public hearing at the International Conference Centre, Kampala.

The ERA chief executive officer, Engineer Frank Ssebowa, said the rates for commercial and large industrial entities were lowered while the domestic consumers would suffer a sh1.03 increase because of “strategic reasons.”

The revision in rates comes a month after energy minister Syda Bumba assured the public that the Government was working towards reducing power tariffs to allow more people to access electricity. It also comes at a time when Parliament which is against the increase is on recess. But sources said Parliament allowed the power regulator to adjust the rates.

Sources said even when the investors take over in June, the price for domestic consumption will not go beyond sh177 per unit.

UEDCL applied to the ERA in November to increase the power rates, but Bumba and Parliament halted the process.

Bumba said yesterday that the government had not been consulted. “There was a stakeholders meeting. As government, we did not participate and we are yet to have dialogue.”

She did not say what action she would take, saying that the ERA was independent.

UEDCL earlier said the increase was necessary to recover money spent on some power projects and curbing non-technical losses.

In the changes announced yesterday, small-scale industrialists like owners of maize mills, water pumps and other commercial services will pay sh196.8 per unit for peak hours, shoulder sh162.8 and off-peak rate sh104.3 per unit.

The previous rate was sh170 per unit.

A peak period is the time interval between 6:00pm to 11:00pm while off-peak is between 11:00pm and 6:00am. Shoulder period is between 6:00am and 6:00pm.

The monthly service charge for domestic and small-scale industries has been maintained at sh1,000 per month while those for medium, large and extra large industries will be sh10,000, sh15,000 and sh20,000 respectively.
Kampala city, the municipalities, towns and trading centres will now pay sh194.8 per unit, up from sh155 for peak hours.

Off-peak hours will cost sh114.1 per unit and sh161.1 for shoulder up. Medium size industries will pay sh180.1, sh148.3 and sh94.5 per unit for peak, shoulder and off-peak hours respectively.

The average tariff per month for this category is sh150.3 per unit. In addition to the fixed charge of sh10,000, this category will pay a demand charge of sh5,000 per KVA.

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