Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa has urged Ugandans to stop mocking the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) over persistent power outages, saying the utility company needs time to stabilise after taking over electricity distribution from Umeme Limited.
Speaking at a press briefing, Nankabirwa said the outages were largely due to limited capital investment in the distribution network during the transition period that began six months ago.
She explained that while electricity demand had grown by an average of 10% annually, especially from industrial users and new connections, investment in the network had not kept pace. This, she said, created the strain currently affecting service reliability.
The minister gave UEDCL until April 2027—two years from its official takeover—to resolve most of the systemic challenges.
So far, UEDCL has begun upgrading key infrastructure, including substations in Kakiri, Kabale, and Masaka. The company has also replaced 206 faulty transformers and connected 140,000 new customers in the past six months. By the end of 2025, UEDCL plans to refurbish nine substations, install 518 new transformers, and expand 40 medium-voltage lines across the country.
Nankabirwa further announced a three-month extension of the company’s “Weterezeeee” amnesty campaign, which allows consumers with illegal electricity connections to regularise their supply without facing penalties.
Launched in July, the campaign targets customers on direct supply, those with faulty meters, and those whose meters were previously removed.
So far, it has helped 22,937 consumers legalise their connections—an effort aimed at reducing commercial energy losses, which stood at 17.15% by the end of July, above the 14.59% target set by the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA).
