The minister for energy and mineral development, Ruth Ssentamu Nankabirwa, has announced new electricity tariffs meant to benefit Ugandans and encourage more electricity consumption.
The minister made the announcement today, January 2, 2025, at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala.
Minister Nankabirwa said there was a general 5.2% reduction in the weighted average end-user tariff, and this is meant to save billions of Uganda shillings.
“This achievement has led to saving the sector, the end-user consumer, and the economy UGX 155 billion, which underscores the Government’s commitment to progressively making the cost of electricity affordable to support industrialization, fostering socioeconomic transformation, and improving the well-being of all Ugandans,” Nankabirwa said.
However, she warned Ugandans against power theft and asked all members of the public to report anyone suspected of stealing electricity.
“Power theft and infrastructure vandalism disrupt services, hinder access expansion, and cause significant financial losses, and enforcement of the Amended Electricity Act (2022) is being done with deterrent penalties in place; security and judicial agencies will actively apprehend and prosecute offenders,” Nankabirwa added.
Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) board chairperson, Dr Sarah Kanaabi Wasagali, announced a 5.2% reduction for the first quarter of the New Year, which runs between January and March.
Dr Kanaabi said that these new electricity tariffs have been reached after thorough consultation with different stakeholders and will be reviewed every quarter.
The new tariffs include the Lifeline Tariff at shs 250 for qualifying domestic consumers, the domestic users at shs. 775.7 for other domestic consumers, and the commercial tariff at shs 575.2 per unit.
Among the medium industrial tariffs, manufacturing goes for shs 417.8 and service at shs 434.5 per unit.
The large industrial tariffs like manufacturing will now go for shs351.5 and service, shs 367.1.
Finally, the extra-Large Industrial Tariff will incur shs 299.1 and the public amenities tariff, shs 360.0 per unit respectively.
According to Kanaabi, electricity demand is expected to grow at an annual rate of approximately 10.4%, with energy purchased by UETCL increasing from 6,634.54 GWh in 2024 to 7,327.14 GWh in 2025.
She mentioned that the Authority will continue implementing quarterly tariff adjustments based on inflation, exchange rate fluctuations, international fuel prices, and other approved costs.
