Cost of Electricity Connection Drops to Ugx 200,000 Only
New customers seeking electricity connections to their houses in a shorter distance that requires no extra pole will now pay only Ugx 200,000 to have power connected to their houses.
The good news is the result of a new undertaking by the Electricity Regulatory Authority, Ministry for Energy and Uganda Development Bank (UDB).
This is great relief to hundreds of thousands of customers who were struggling to raise the Ugx 720,883 “No Pole” service approved by the ERA for new connections.
This is a broader plan subsidized by government to increase connectivity to electricity from the current 180,000 connections to at least 300000 and increase access and revenue from Uganda’s power.
This is part of the Electricity Connection Policy ECP
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development is spearheading the new program code named The Hybrid Electricity Customer Connection Financing Framework.
Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa flanked by ERA Board Chairperson Dr. Sarah Wasagali Kanaabi and ERA CEO Eng Ziria Tibalwa Waako told #smlnews.ug that the no pole connection charges by ERA excludes internal house wiring which varies from structure to structure and inspection fees but includes taxes.
She was confident the new drive will help more households get connected to the national grid.
In August 2020, cabinet approved a hybrid connections program to allow consumers who could afford the full electricity connection cost to get connected as government mobilized resources to fund free connections but progress has been slow with over 100000 new applications still pending.
Some households cannot wait for this due to their immediate needs but at the same time they cannot raise the entire Shs720883 immediately. To bridge this gap, my ministry working with ERA and UDB is implementing a hybrid mechanism targeting No-Pole Customer Connections. This framework combines a customer contribution, a subsidy and a credit to the customer according to Nankabirwa.
This is not a waiver and the customer will still meet the Ugx 720883 connection charges but will enjoy a longer period of payment and a subsidy under an indirect loan of Shs270000 and Shs250883 as subsidy and the customer’s Ugx 200000 contribution. UDB will top up the Shs270000 and only recover it through a 15% deduction from every electricity bill payment by the customer in a period of more than 5 years.
While encouraging the public to embrace the program, Nankabirwa said “The program will be rolled out for Umeme Ltd and UEDCL customers as a pilot. Therefore, potential consumers are encouraged to take advantage of this program, make a down payment of Shs200000 and get connected to electricity. This framework is based on the 2020 No Pole connection (Shs720883) approved by ERA.
