Uganda interconnected grid system

How will a mini-grid interact with the central grid in Uganda?

There are no clear rules in Uganda for how a mini-grid is to interact with the central grid in the future when the main grid gets built out to where a mini-grid is located. However, developers recognize that the grid is unlikely ever to get connected to where they have been operating on Lake Victoria.

Who owns a mini-grid in Uganda?

In Uganda, utilities, private companies, communi-ties, or some combination of the three operate mini-grids. Generally, a private-sector player develops and operates the mini-grid, owning the generating asset and bearing the cost of construction. Today, seven independent power producers (IPPs) operate -torial Power and Pamoja Energy.

Who regulates mini-grids in Uganda?

UEDCL also runs a small number of mini-grids (Anton Eberhard, 2016). The Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) is the primary regulator of Uganda’s mini-grids. It admin-isters licence approval, sets tariffs and maintains technical standards. The REA has no direct regu-latory authority over mini-grids, but ERA consults Source: BloombergNEF.

How many mini-grids are there in Uganda?

Uganda has 34 installed mini-grids that serve ap-proximately 20,000 households. That’s less than 1 percent of the 7.3 million households in the country. Solar and hydro make up the vast majority of proj-ects in Uganda – 40 percent and 34 percent re-spectively (Figure 100).

Do mini-grids need a license in Uganda?

Licensing is one of the biggest hurdles to mini-grid development in Uganda. According to the Electric-ity Order (ERA, 2007), off-grid mini-grids smaller than 2MW are exempt from any licensing require- -tion for each project from the ERA is still required. Securing such an exemption can be a lengthy pro-cess taking a year or longer.

Why is the mini-grid market so slow in Uganda?

Despite the opportunity for further mini-grid de-velopment in Uganda, the market has been slow to take off, largely due to a fragmented regulatory envi-ronment. Among other issues, the country’s current policies fail to explicitly set an energy access target to be met through mini-grids.