Promotion of mini-grids for rural electrification in Uganda

Abstract

Uganda's low electrification rate of around 15% is one of the major challenges for economic development and poverty reduction, with business, education, health and communication services suffering. With 70% of the population living outside the cities, the on-grid projects foreseen nationally leave vast areas of the country and a huge section of the population without access to electricity. The promotion of Mini-Grids for Rural Electrification (Pro Mini-Grids) project addresses the biggest gap in Uganda's electrification agenda, this being the very poor rate of progress in rural electrification, from an estimated 2% in 2001 to around 38% in 2018 (World Bank 2020). In response to this issue, government and development partners have sought to find ways to accelerate access to electricity in order to meet the needs of the rural population.Uganda's low electrification rate of around 15% is one of the major challenges for economic development and poverty reduction, with business, education, health and communication services suffering. With 70% of the population living outside the cities, the on-grid projects foreseen nationally leave vast areas of the country and a huge section of the population without access to electricity. The promotion of Mini-Grids for Rural Electrification (Pro Mini-Grids) project addresses the biggest gap in Uganda's electrification agenda, this being the very poor rate of progress in rural electrification, from an estimated 2% in 2001 to around 38% in 2018 (World Bank 2020). In response to this issue, government and development partners have sought to find ways to accelerate access to electricity in order to meet the needs of the rural population.