Less than eight percent of Ugandans have access to electricity
High-cost fuel imports and drought have led to decreased power generation
CFLs are decreasing pressure on power supply and saving consumers money
Kampala, October 29, 2008 -- Anne Nakisinge is a doctor working in a hospital in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. Like many Ugandans, Dr. Nakisinge has had to bear the load of the country’s acute electricity crisis, both at the hospital where she works and at home.
“It’s been crazy over the last couple of years,” Nakisinge said. “Even the dedicated power line for the hospital is sometimes affected and this obviously impacts our work and the patients.”
Nakisinge is one of the privileged few who even have electricity. Less than eight percent of Uganda’s 30 million citizens have access to electricity.
Despite her access, it has been difficult. On top of the unreliable power supply which has resulted in rolling blackouts over the last couple of years, Nakisinge has had to pay heavy energy bills due to high tariffs.
High-cost Solutions to the Power Crisis
The power outage trend began in Uganda in 2004 when a severe regional drought lowered Lake Victoria water levels, leading to decreased power generation and exacerbating the already high power deficit. The country lost about 40 percent of its energy supply.
Energy prices have since skyrocketed due to increased generation costs, a result of expensive fuel imports for thermal power plants installed by the government to cope with the crisis.
Today, to reduce power shortages, the government leases expensive thermal plants. This has alleviated blackouts but has come at a high cost. The government is forced to provide up to US$50 million a year in subsidies to make electricity somewhat affordable to consumers.
According to James Baanabe, assistant commissioner of energy efficiency, in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, without the additional thermal power, Uganda can produce only 145 Megawatts of electricity, a fraction of its 380 Megawatt capacity.
Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs)
For Nakisinge, the situation improved early last year, when the government introduced free Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs), as one of its short term measures to reduce the shortfall in power supply. The CFLs, which have a minimum lifespan of 6,000 hours, not only save energy but provide better lighting than ordinary incandescent bulbs.
Using funds from the World Bank, Uganda procured 800,000 of the lamps for free distribution to power consumers. Between January and May 2007, some 550,000 free energy saving CFLs were distributed. Nakisinge was one of the beneficiaries:
“At first, I was reluctant to make the switch to energy saving lamps because they were very expensive,” said Nakisinge. “When the government agents brought the three free lamps to my house, little did I know that it would give me the double blessing of also slashing down my electricity bill.”
The results were almost immediate.
“Because I mainly use electricity for lighting and very few other appliances, I made sure all my other bulbs were replaced with CFLs,” Nakisinge said. “My monthly bill came down by almost half, from an average of about Shs.60,000 (US$35) to less than Shs.30,000 (US$20).” Ugandans currently pay US$0.18 per kilowatt hour of electricity consumed.
Cost Savings and Energy Awareness
Following the distribution of the free lamps, combined with other energy saving measures, up to 30 Megawatts of electricity became available during Uganda’s peak hours, reducing blackouts and saving the government a substantial amount of money. About 20 Megawatts of the saved energy is attributed to the CFL project, which not only provided relief but created energy saving awareness among consumers.
Today, many Ugandans are abandoning incandescent bulbs, the bulk of which were collected from consumers and disposed of during the CFL distribution. An estimated 100,000 CFLs are sold in Uganda annually.
The bulbs offer a win-win situation for both consumer and distributor, according to government officials. At a procurement and distribution cost of about $2.00 for each lamp, officials estimate the cost of peak load savings at about $10 per kilowatt per year.
The government has also been more deliberate in its campaign to sensitize the public on ways to reduce consumption to cut energy costs; plans are underway to legislate energy efficiency measures to support the effort.
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