KAMPALA – Members of Parliament have grilled the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) over a staggering backlog of customer connections, casting fresh doubt on the country’s electrification targets.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!During a heated session before the Public Accounts Committee (Central) on Monday, legislators expressed outrage over the fate of many Ugandans who remain in the dark despite having paid for electricity connections.
The Committee Chairperson, Hon. Patrick Nsamba, revealed that over 400,000 citizens who made payments to the former distributor, UMEME, have yet to be connected to the grid since UEDCL took over the reins of distribution.
“The money is gone, but the power is not on. These are hardworking Ugandans who have fulfilled their side of the bargain. It is unacceptable that UEDCL is holding their money and their hopes hostage,” MP Nsamba said.
The acting UEDCL boss, Joselyn Rwakakooko, attributed the backlog to limited funding for maintaining aging substations and lengthy delays in buying new electricity meters.
Rwakakooko also told the committee that the slow procurement of electricity meters has held back new connections for thousands of waiting customers.
“The inherited infrastructure requires significant capital injection to bring it up to standard, and we are facing global supply chain shocks that are delaying meter acquisitions,” the UEDCL boss told the committee.
Lawmakers are demanding swift and decisive action to resolve an escalating crisis that threatens to undermine public trust in the country’s transition from UMEME to a new electricity distribution model.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Irene Batebe, assured the parliamentary committee that high-level government interventions are already underway to stabilize the sector.
Batebe revealed that the ministry is in active negotiations with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority to drastically shorten procurement cycles for essential equipment.
She added that the process is being streamlined to enable faster acquisition of meters and transformers so the distribution company can clear the backlog with immediate effect.
The development comes as a major blow to the government’s ambitious rural electrification agenda, leaving legislators demanding a clear, time-bound roadmap from UEDCL.
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