UGANDA: Centenary Bank Launches Electricity Access plan in Uganda
By; Jjunju Francis
The desire for improved livelihood for Ugandans especially for those in the rural areas is one of the priorities the Catholic Church is advocating for fairness, equity and development.
Besides other needs, renewable energy deployment for those not connected to the national grid and financing is necessary for Ugandans in line with the global Sustainable Development Goals – SDG no. 7.
Despite provision for modern energy services to promote sustainable development, it has been noted that access is limited in many developing countries including Uganda.
Uganda has one of the lowest per capita electricity consumption rates in the world with 215 kWh per capita per year in spite of the electricity demand growth of 10-12% per annum for Ugandans.
The World Bank report of 2018 indicated that access to electricity in the country was at 42.65 %. As of October 2019, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development reported an estimated population of 28% of Ugandans having access to electricity.
In September 2019, Uganda signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with Russia to build capacity to exploit nuclear technology for energy, medical and other peaceful purposes.
The limited access to electricity is largely attributed to high connection expenses on the national grid. In fact, by December 2019, Uganda’s price of electricity had reached 0.183 U.S. Dollar per kWh for households and 0.161 U.S. Dollar for businesses which includes all components of the electricity bill such as the cost of power, distribution and taxes.
Now, Centenary Bank which was founded by the Catholic Church in Uganda has come up with a campaign dubbed “CenteSolar Loan, Power Connection Loan, and Improved Institutional Cooking Stoves”.
The campaign is aimed at providing short term financing for purchase of solar equipment and electricity installations for residential and commercial premises at affordable interest rates for as low as 15% per annum, going for a period of 5 years with flexible payment installments.
The Manager Housing and Salary Business at Centenary Bank Abdul Kyanika Nsibambi, says they are working with government agencies like Uganda Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and Uganda Energy Credit Capitalization Company to provide specific Renewable Energy Loan Products to improve people’s livelihood, get access to information and support their day to day living.
Solar power will provide the much-needed light for the rural micro-enterprises and homes hence providing longer hours for business and home activities like studying.
It also improves access to information in rural areas through mobile phones, chargeable radios, and television as well as safety by reducing fire incidents and respiratory illnesses that are due to smoke inhalation from using firewood or kerosene stoves for lighting.
