Managing Director’s Foreword
The availability of reliable, affordable, clean and modern energy services is critical for economic growth, poverty reduction, as well as the social and cultural transformation of the Ugandan society.
According to the Uganda National Household Survey of 2019/2020 (Source UBOS), 6,258,840 Households (HH) out a national total of 8,980,771 Households (HH) dwelled in the rural areas. The same statistics provided that 49.5% of the rural households (3,098,125 HH) had access to electricity. Majorly, 1,959,016 HH (31.3%) accessed electricity through Solar kits, 813,648 HH (13%) accessed electricity through solar systems and 325,459 HH (5.2%) accessed through the grid.
At the National scale, access to electricity was 56.7% of the total population with 37.7% contributed by Solar and 18.9% contributed by the Grid (Source UBOS).
The survey data demonstrated that access to electricity in the rural areas of Uganda could be accelerated through a scale up of innovative financing modalities to address the affordability barrier associated with the upfront cost of acquiring solar kits and solar systems.
As a Clean Energy Apex financier of choice, the Uganda Energy Credit Capitalisation Company’s (UECCC’s) mission for the short to medium term has to be very clear and deliberate. In partnership with Financial Institutions (regulated by the Central Bank of Uganda and the Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority) and Energy Service Companies, UECCC shall scale up the provision of innovative financing facilities to unlock the financing barriers inhibiting access to clean and modern energy services especially in the rural areas. More specifically, the Company will scale up financial intermediary credit lines and results-based financing facilities offering price subsidies/discounts to address affordability barriers and roll out solar systems for households and enterprises, clean cooking solutions powered by solar, ethanol, biogas, briquettes, liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and Productive uses of Energy technologies starting with water pumping, irrigation, refrigeration and cooling, water heating and grain milling.
Roy Nyamutale Baguma
Managing Director – UECCC