Uganda's electricity distribution company has acknowledged that aging infrastructure is behind persistent power outages affecting households and businesses across the country. Joselynne Rwabwogo, acting managing director of the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL), said on Thursday, October 22 that the utility must take responsibility for resolving the problems, rather than simply offering explanations to frustrated consumers who have endured repeated blackouts. Her comments come amid growing complaints and political pressure, with Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi questioning the utility over recurring outages, transformer failures and a reported backlog of approximately 400,000 people still awaiting electricity connections.
UEDCL took over the distribution network from Umeme in March 2025, when the private operator's 20-year concession ended. The utility has attributed unreliable supply to the condition of the inherited network, which includes overloaded lines, deteriorated electricity poles and the lack of investment during the years before the concession ended. According to Jonan Kiiza, then head of corporate and stakeholder affairs at UEDCL, the distributor needed substantial investment to address gaps that emerged after Umeme stopped reinvesting in the grid. He disclosed that more than 47,000 electricity poles across the country were due for replacement, with some collapsing during storms and contributing to interruptions. Demand for electricity grew at an average of 12.7% annually during the three years of limited investment, leaving the network unable to cope with rising consumption.
Rwabwogo acknowledged that customers who had spent hours without electricity wanted results, not explanations about infrastructure and investment needs. She said some improvements would take time, particularly where significant infrastructure investment was required, but that UEDCL was working with government and sector partners to accelerate strengthening projects. She also recognised that customers expected timely communication when supply was interrupted, rather than repeatedly seeking information about restoration. Reliable electricity was essential for industrial growth and accommodating the country's expanding electricity requirements, she added.
Rwabwogo emphasised that UEDCL's responsibility extended beyond explaining the challenges to demonstrating progress in resolving them. She said the utility must communicate openly about progress and deliver improvements that customers could experience. For consumers, particularly in cities such as Kampala, progress will ultimately be measured by whether electricity becomes more reliable, outages become less frequent and restoration times improve, leaving UEDCL under pressure to demonstrate that the problems can be addressed.