Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) has connected more than 640,000 new customers to the national grid in just six months since taking over operations from UMEME, marking a major milestone in government efforts to expand electricity access.
UEDCL Managing Director Paul Mwesigwa revealed the figures during a weekly meeting of the State House Investors’ Protection Unit (SHIPU) on Tuesday, September 16, 2025. He said the number of connections grew from 1,782,085 in April to 2,430,489 by September.
“We have seen tremendous progress since the government took the bold decision to take over all privately operated concessionaires,” Mwesigwa said. “This is a fundamental achievement, and the government has actually scored very well.”
Mwesigwa also reported a sharp rise in grid-connected households, which increased from 1,687,267 to 2,327,898 in the same period. The country’s grid length grew from 3,431 km to 5,140 km, and total installed generation capacity rose from 1,362 megawatts to 2,049 megawatts.
Energy losses dropped from 19.1% to 16.8%, which Mwesigwa attributed to improved efficiency and tighter management. He further commended the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) for accrediting UEDCL, saying this has significantly accelerated the pace of new connections.
The SHIPU meeting, chaired by Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) Executive Director Patrick Birungi, brought together top government agency heads, including PPDA Executive Director Benson Turamye, senior representatives from the Uganda Energy Credit Capitalisation Company (UECCC), Uganda Registration Services Bureau, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, and the Uganda Development Forum.
UECCC’s Desmond Tutu Opio shared updates on the agency’s renewable energy initiatives, including efforts to cut biomass reliance for cooking from 86% to 50% by 2025. “We are targeting to reach over 353,000 households,” Opio said, noting that UECCC has deployed more than sh134 billion through a World Bank-supported subsidy scheme.
Over the past year, UECCC has delivered 20,200 solar lanterns, 306,000 home systems, 1,190 solar-powered water pumps, 277 solar refrigerators, and 307 carbonised biomass cookstoves, improving energy access in remote areas such as Mayuge and Pakwach.
Turamye warned that vandalism remains a challenge to rural electrification efforts. “It is a takeaway that needs follow-up,” he said.
URSB’s Kule Walid praised UEDCL’s rapid progress, saying the results “are really encouraging and need to be publicised widely.”
In closing the meeting, Birungi stressed the importance of communicating government achievements to the public. He announced that SHIPU will host an economic forum on NBS TV by the end of the month and an economic summit on NTV in mid-October, alongside regular development coverage on other major media outlets.
