The Ministry of Energy in Uganda, under the leadership of Ruth Nankakbirwa, has announced a deadline for the phasing out of outdated Yaka prepaid electricity meters. The country, along with its regional counterparts, is adopting the Standard Transfer Specification, a global standard in metering technology that allows consumers to seamlessly switch electricity payments between utility providers.
The decision to replace the existing Yaka system, provided by Umeme Uganda Limited, with a more versatile Token Identification System (TID Rollover) has been prompted by the government’s initiative to introduce electricity tokens by various operators. Consumers relying on prepaid electricity will need to migrate to the new technology by October 2024.
The shift to the new meters signifies a departure from the existing Token Identifiers (TID). In alignment with this transition, South Africa has announced that token Identifiers for their system will expire in November 2024.
Ruth Nankakbirwa emphasized that the Ministry aims to complete the migration of all prepaid electricity meters onto the new Token Identification System by October 2024. This will ensure that consumers can continue purchasing units for their power supply seamlessly.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, in his end-of-year address, highlighted the government’s commitment to reducing electricity costs to enhance the competitiveness of Uganda’s products in both domestic and export markets. Lower end-user electricity tariffs, as outlined in the National Resistance Movement – NRM government manifesto 2021 – 2026, are identified as crucial for the industrialization and socio-economic transformation of the country.
To realize this vision, President Museveni directed the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa, to reduce the cost of power for manufacturers to 5 cents of the dollar or 185 Shillings per unit, down from the existing 8.7 cents of the dollar or 321 Shillings per unit.
Furthermore, the President advocated for support to the manufacturing sector to directly purchase electricity from government power plants, citing favorable rates such as 1.1 cents per US$ per unit for Kiira and Nalubaale, 4.16 cents US$ per unit for Isimba, and an estimated 4.97 cents US$ per unit for Karuma upon completion.
Dr. Sarah Kanaabi Wasagali, Chairperson of the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA), noted that the Authority had reviewed end-user electricity tariffs between September and November 2023. The review considered applications from key players in the sector, including Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL), Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL), Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL), and Umeme Limited.
The broader context of these changes aligns with the Energy Policy for Uganda 2023, which aims to achieve a targeted electricity generation capacity of 52,481MW by 2040, coupled with an ambitious grid access rate of 80%.
