Number of East Africans using Power still too small

By; Ben Musanje

04^th September 2019

The head of Energy Access, Program and Governance Center in the World Resources Institute in Africa Benson Ireri, says the East Africans especially in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania can’t afford and relay on energy amidst its wider connections.

Ireri says that power tariffs are still high for most citizens using it only for lighting and very few use it for commercial purposes.

He said this while speaking to journalists at the launching of the Energy Access Explorer, a web platform that leverages the power of satellite imagery combined with local data to visualize energy supply and demand at 1Km resolution.

He says that East African governments have to ensure power connectivity with affordable tariffs and reliabilities to attract more investors in the country.

Uganda’s total electricity capacity is currently put at 1,177 MW with the commissioning of the Isimba Hydro Power Plant but the number of people using electricity are said to be only 1.3million electricity out of 40 million people according to the Electricity Regulatory Authority ERA.