GIS and rural electricity planning in Uganda · 2012-02-25 · al’s Development. Currently,...

Journal of Cleaner Production 15 (2007) 203e217www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

GIS and rural electricity planning in Uganda

Elizabeth Kaijuka

IT Power (UK) Uganda Office, Plot 7B, Innovations House, Acacia Avenue, PO Box 10631, Kampala, Uganda

Received 6 July 2005; accepted 30 November 2005

Available online 18 May 2006

Abstract

Sustainable development is literally fuelled by the energy sector. In Uganda, the electricity sector has experienced dramatic market liberationin recent years. This reform was centred around the unbundling of the main government utility, Uganda Electricity Board (UEB), a monopolydivided into three companies created to introduce competition into the market. Market reform has also led to the creation of a regulatory bodyand a rural electrification fund with the aim of subsidising rural electricity investments. Through a multi-sectoral programme financed by theWorld Bank and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Ministry of Energy is developing a Rural Electrification Master Plan to providea more systematic tool for rural electricity investments. Unlike previous approaches, this plan is demand driven. This paper discusses the use ofGeographic Information Systems (GIS) in the planning process for rural electrification. The aim is to identify patterns of demand and priorityareas for investment. By creating a demand-side scenario, electricity can then be supplied to targeted areas. A cross-sectoral view is taken toexamine the energy demand patterns using physical data and available country statistics, incorporated into a GIS master database. Based on geo-referenced data of population and existing infrastructure, the initial priority demand-side sectors targeted are education and health. An energybenefit point system is then applied to each sector based on local conditions and needs assessments. Their aggregated points then provide anindicator of energy demand distribution for electricity planning at district level. As a result of this preliminary work, specific areas couldthen be targeted for investment and optimised supply systems could be designed, which include off-grid renewable energy plants such assmall-scale hydropower schemes.� 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Uganda; GIS; Electricity planning

1. Introduction

The pace of rural electrification over much of the developingworld is painfully slow, and Uganda is no exception. This comesas no surprise since rural communities not only have low popu-lation densities, but they are often the poorest, making privatesector investment unattractive due to the high capital and oper-ating costs. Attracting investors for rural electrification projects,especially in politically unstable less developing countries(LDCs) is therefore the overriding challenge.

Typically, in a LDC like Uganda, before even arriving ata technological solution, the financial and economic costs firsthave to be justified. New innovative technologies come aftercost considerations since the means justify the end, and

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doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2005.11.057

experience shows that many projects will only last as longas their financing does. In the case of Uganda, funds usuallyflow, with strings attached, from the donor or lender institutionto the receiving or borrowing government body who, in turn,will subsidise the utility company and then finally to the con-sumer who will foot the bill. The whole operation needs to befinancially profitable in the long-term in order to be ultimatelysustainable, and so financial viability is therefore one of thefirst priorities for rural electrification projects. Althoughnecessity is the mother of invention, scarce resources do notleave any room for unaffordable options, however innovativethey may be. So before any new and renewable energytechnologies can be adopted in rural Uganda, a host of cost-benefit decisions have to precede the final technology selec-tion, which must also be the least-cost option.

The planning process first requires a defined ‘Rural Electri-fication Criteria’, specific to the country’s situation. In Uganda,

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204 E. Kaijuka / Journal of Cleaner Production 15 (2007) 203e217

the proposed ‘Indicative Rural Electrification Master Plan’can be broadly condensed into three steps:

� The case has to be made for grid-based or off-gridplanning.� Plans subject to financial and economic cost/benefit anal-

ysis in order to identify and prioritise possible electrifica-tion projects.� Technology selection must be made to suit these specific

conditions.

At the district level, planning can then be done by assigning‘Energy benefit points’ to each establishment that would re-quire electrification within that administrative boundary,such that the infrastructure necessary for supply could be de-signed accordingly to match the relative demand.

Positive political will is crucial to the success of the plan-ning process, and this has already been addressed in Ugan-da’s ‘Rural Electrification Strategy and Plan Covering thePeriod 2001 to 2010’ by the Ministry of Energy and Miner-al’s Development. Currently, grid-based electricity access inrural areas stands at less than 2% of the population, whilstthe overall national level is 5%. The minimum aim for theRural Electrification Strategy and Plan is to increase connec-tions to 10% by 2012, the equivalent of 400,000 new ruralconsumers. The primary objective is to reduce inequalitiesin access to electricity and associated opportunities for in-creased social welfare, education, health and income

generation [1]. This aim could be addressed by the use ofGIS which would allow accurate projections to be made interms of identifying energy needs, and the quantities requiredfor any given specific area.

Regarding global impacts, Uganda completed an inventoryof it greenhouse gas emissions and is therefore obliged tomeet its commitments as a signatory to the UN’s ClimateChange Convention (UNCCC). The promotion of renewableenergy is therefore another important element of the Govern-ment of Uganda’s rural electrification strategy, giving themthe opportunity to benefit from internationally sponsored pro-jects via organisations like the Global Environmental Facility(GEF).

2. Approach

A rational and systematic approach is needed for ruralelectricity planning in Uganda. GIS can provide a key setof components needed for planning in the form of geo-referenced data, using Global Positioning System (GPS)coordinates. It produces intelligent data that supports analy-ses and allows displays of tabular and spatial information toassist decision-makers. The planning process is very com-plex and multifaceted, and so a simplified approach needsto be taken. For the purpose of this study, we can dividethe ‘problematique’ into the four inter-related themes shownin Box 1.

Box 1.

Theme A: Supply Side

biogas co-generation gasification

A2) Hydropower large-hydro & mini-hydrofuel cell technology

A3) Solar photovoltaic

A4) GeothermalA5) Wind

Theme B: Demand Side

B1) Households & Institutions houses schools hospitals

B2) Industry & Commercefactoriesbusinesses

B3) Transport & Agriculture commercial farms

Theme C: Institutional Issue

C1) Energy Policy C2) Institutional Framework C3) Critical Success Factors

Theme D: Energy & Environment

D1) Global Environmental Facility D2) Clean Development Mechanism D3) Millennium Development Goals

A1) Biomass

205E. Kaijuka / Journal of Cleaner Production 15 (2007) 203e217

This paper presents the demand-side aspect of electricityplanning in Uganda. Taking a country-wide view, the initialdemand-sectors targeted are health centres, schools, house-holds and local government headquarters. These could thenprovide a priority-ranking pattern based on estimated benefitpoints allocated to each ‘demand centre’. An example isgiven of a specific district whose benefit points have been al-located, and a priority pattern formed given its existinginfrastructure.

Many other considerations for developing an appropriatemethodology arise out of the four themes during this process,and it is within this context that the following questions are ap-plied to rural electricity planning in Uganda:

1. What are the institutional structures set up for RuralElectrification in Uganda? (Theme C)

2. What are the energy demand patterns in Uganda?(Theme B)

3. What are the possible off-grid renewable energy options?(Theme A)

3. Theme C: institutional issues

3.1. Energy policy

Uganda’s Electricity Act of 1999 aims at reforming thepower sector by introducing competition and liberalising theelectricity industry [2]. In order to make electrification afford-able to the rural population, it is planned that the governmentwill subsidise electrification projects, although the criteria andlevel of subsidisation are still in the process of being deter-mined. The Rural Electrification Project (REP) in Uganda isbeing financed by the World Bank and the Global Environ-ment Facility (GEF) through a multi-sectoral program calledEnergy for Rural Transformation (ERT), with the overallgoal of increasing electricity access in rural areas from 1%to 10% by 2012 [3].

An autonomous body, the Rural Electrification Agency(REA) has also been set up, under the Ministry of Energy &Minerals Development (MEMD), to implement Rural Electri-fication policies and manage the Rural Electrification Fund

Box 2. Conceptual institutional framework of the Rural Electrification Project in Uganda

MOFMinistry of Finance, Planning &

Economic Development

MEMDMinistry of Energy & Minerals

Development

REARural Electrification Agency

ERTEnergy for Rural Transformation

Programme

MOHMinistry of Health

MOEMinistry ofEducation

MWLEMinistry of Water,

Lands & Environment

MOAMinistry of

Agriculture

MOLGMinistry of Local Government

LC 5(District Level)Local Council 5

LC 3(Sub-County Level)

Local Council 3

CENTRAL

GOVERNMENT


[4]. The agency is responsible for awarding subsidies to in-vestments in rural electrification projects in Uganda, whilstunder this ERT program, the role of the Ministry is one ofoverall coordination, monitoring and evaluation. The PrivateSector Foundation (PSFU) (http://www.psfuganda.org) will fa-cilitate and develop business plans, and after the businessplans have been developed, they will then apply to REA forfinancial support (subsidy). In this way, the Government ofUganda is looking to achieve their goal through a public/private partnership. Priority Rural Electrification Project(PREP) packages are initially being prepared for bidding tothe private sector in order to test the market before embarking

on countrywide schemes. It is eventually planned that the elec-tricity tariffs will reflect the cost of production in order toguarantee the financial viability of rural electrification invest-ments, subject to regulation by an Electricity Regulatory Au-thority (ERA) (Box 2).

3.2. Critical success factors

Critical success factors (CSFs) are described by the UKGovernment’s Department for International Development(DfID) as key features of renewable energy programs thatneed to be put in place to maximise the possibility that

Fig. 1. The electricity grid/transmission network and some 33 kV distribution lines plus proposed extensions.

http://www.psfuganda.org


a project will succeed. They use their experience and knowl-edge of various energy projects from around the world to cat-egorise these CSFs into five key levels (adapted from http://www.dfid-kar-energy.org.uk/html/r6143.htm):

(i) Universal CSFs are the ones which form essential fea-tures, including: the use of proven designs or perfor-mance guarantees; the existence of an acceptableeconomic and financial package; thorough market sur-veys and clear indication of social need. They statethat checks should be put in place to determine projectcompatibility with the medium-term energy strategy,

and to ensure that legislative, political and regulatoryframeworks are favourable.

(ii) CSFs for funding bodies state that programmes should beindependent of day-to-day political involvement. Theyshould avoid conflict with wider development plans andshould allow the market to choose or ‘pull’ the most ap-propriate technology. They need to ensure that all thoseinvolved in the market chain benefit from theprogramme.

(iii) CSFs for managing agencies state that agencies shouldencourage independent scrutiny to confirm objectivityof key programmes. Their responsibility is to encourage

Fig. 2. The electricity grid roughly follows the road network; under full coverage these should ideally match.

http://www.dfid-kar-energy.org.uk/html/r6143.htm

http://www.dfid-kar-energy.org.uk/html/r6143.htm


a competitive energy market. Good project monitoringmust be supported by quick responses at early stages toprevent major contractual differences.

(iv) CSFs for small niche markets, such as the provision of ba-sic energy services to rural communities, offer particularpotential and problems. CSFs include the ability of thehost community to absorb technology as well as its up-keep. Also, the impacts on local employment, education,training and infrastructure development need to be care-fully considered.

(v) CSFs for individual technologies state that renewable en-ergy technologies such as solar photovoltaic systems,

mini-hydro, biomass utilisation and energy from wasteall have attributes that need to be taken into account.

3.3. CSFs for small niche markets in Uganda

Some more specific CSFs for small niche markets that canbe applied to Uganda’s case during the rural electricity plan-ning process are cost recovery and community involvement.Cost recovery is one of the most decisive and crucial factorsdetermining long-term effectiveness of rural electrificationprograms. Dependence on high initial subsidies in investmentcosts might lead to eventual extortionate tariffs for poor rural

Fig. 3. Population distribution: a few pockets of densely populated areas; Kampala is the most densely populated region, Eastern Uganda is the least densely

populated region.


customer in order for the supplier to recover the loss incurredby the eventual reduction or removal of subsidies.

Cost-saving opportunities, therefore, need to be exploitedfrom the beginning of the planning process. In order to createa win-win situation, a two-way approach needs to be takensuch that increased income generating activities would be cre-ated as a consequence of improved access to electricity. Thatway, the rural consumer will be able to afford to pay his/herelectric bills, whilst private operators can in turn afford to pro-vide a decent service and make a modest profit. Rural commu-nities in Uganda could be mobilised under their LocalCouncils to take advantage of the micro-finance loans on offer,and to create new income-generating activities that would

arise from electrification based on their natural resourcesand workforce.

4. Theme B: demand side

4.1. Energy demand patterns

In Uganda, the ever-growing demand for electricity exceedsactual consumption, suppressed by the limited supply. The sit-uation is exasperated further by recurrent load shedding im-posed almost daily on urban consumers in the capital city,Kampala, where demand is greatest. The capital’s electric sup-ply is rationed whilst tariffs are on the increase, thus forcing

Fig. 4. Population density is highest along the electricity grid; still many highly populated areas are out of reach.


customers to pay more for a lesser service. It would thereforemake practical sense to look at the demand that already existsin the country, and then design a targeted supply system tomatch it.

A cross-sectoral view is taken to examine energy demandpatterns for Uganda using geo-referenced data, and to geta literal picture of the situation on the ground. A ‘demandcentre’ can be interpreted as any physical structure thatwould require electrification. With a goal of kick-starting de-velopment, the initial focus is on prioritising provision ofelectricity to schools and hospitals, powering a few small en-terprises, mobile telecommunications, as well as providingdomestic electricity. This should stimulate improved services

and social welfare which should attract greater businessopportunities.

This analysis is based on available country statistics fromthe Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) and physical data in-corporated into a GIS database to create a base-case demandscenario. At this stage of the analysis, agricultural productivityand business activity input would be useful to add but that datais not yet readily available.

4.2. Data processing for GIS maps

The quality of data acquisition systems used for collectingand monitoring resources in Uganda is poor, and in many

Fig. 5. Some demand centres: schools and village trading centres.


cases such data may have limited value in the context of com-mercial decision making. Being a less developed nation,Uganda faces greater challenges in creating such a databasesystem. These challenges include: inadequate response fromdata collectors, limited appreciation of data, data inconsis-tencies and inaccuracies. The completeness and accuracy ofthe data used in the analysis is crucial since it determinesthe accuracy of the results.

The initial challenge therefore, is to assess the best way inwhich to convert the information into GIS format and to iden-tify what form of data is to be used for subsequent analysis toinform decision-making.

The method of processing the data for creating theGIS maps in this paper can be summarised by the followingsteps:

(i) Existing data: this data was supplied by the Uganda Bu-reau of Statistics and the relevant Ministries as raw datathat contained various inaccuracies. From this originaldata, gaps were identified and noted.

(ii) Data collection: where relevant, more data was collectedby field teams in order to fill in these gaps.

(iii) Data cleaning: as part of quality control, the data wasthen verified and final corrections made including

Fig. 6. Health centres.


Fig. 7. The demand pattern most activity congregates along the electricity grid.

alignment of projections and GPS coordinates as well asspell checks.

(iv) Data modelling: once the data had been verified, it wasthen modelled to create the GIS maps.

Looking at the GIS maps created (Figs. 1e7), the existingdemand pattern for Uganda is already clear: most activity inthe country clusters along the existing electric grid as a lifelinefor power.

Fig. 1 shows the electric transmission network and some33 kV distribution lines including some of the proposedextensions for the suggested Priority Rural ElectrificationProject (PREP) areas. Fig. 2 shows the existing electricity

grid and the road network combined. We can see that thepower lines roughly follow the road network, and this is par-ticularly true in the rural parts. Ideally, under full coverage,these two networks should match. The road network also indi-cates potential access to bigger markets for the rural busi-nesses whose main activity is the transportation ofagricultural produce. Fig. 3 shows the population distributionby sub-county. From this we can see that there are a few iso-lated pockets of densely populated areas. Kampala, being thecapital city, is the most densely populated region and the semi-desert North-Eastern region is the least populated. Fig. 4shows the population distribution along the grid. We can seethat there are still many highly populated areas unconnected


to the grid. Such areas would therefore be good candidates foroff-grid planning. Fig. 5 shows some energy demand centressuch as schools and village trading centres. Fig. 6 shows thedistribution of health centres (HCs) around the country whichhave been aggregated into four levels as defined by the Minis-try of Health according to capacity levels. At the highest levelare hospitals, which take the highest energy load priority; thenHC IVs, which would use powered medical equipment; downto HC IIIs and HC IIs which require basic electricity supply.Fig. 7 shows the distribution of energy demand centres alongthe electric grid, including population density, schools and vil-lage trading centres. Their combined demand pattern showsthe congestion along the electric grid. These preliminaryresults could then provide the basis for a priority-rankingpattern. Once the demand scenario has been set, estimatedload profiles or benefit points can then be allocated to each‘demand-centre’. These points could then be summed upwithin each administrative boundary at either district, countyor parish level to give a priority pattern.

4.3. Benefit point allocation

The suggested benefit point allocations for Uganda aregiven in Table 1 based on needs assessment in each sectorin terms of social value, willingness to pay for electricity ser-vices, future electricity consumption and long term sustain-ability of a project. The aim is to reflect the relativeimportance of infrastructure and other facilities and to makean attempt to quantify these social benefits.

Using a rural household as the unit reference point, all otherinstitutions are allocated benefit points against this referenceand their electrification is compared relative to this unit. These

Table 1

Benefit points allocation table

Sector Category Comment

or qualification

Suggested

formula

for Uganda

Benefit point

average used

Households Household or

population

per sub-county

1 1

Health Health

centres

HC II 10 10

HC III 30 30

HC IV 70 70

Hospital 100 þ 0.6pbeda 160

Education Schools Primary 8 þ 0.015 ppa 12

Post primary 9 9

Secondary 12 þ 0.025 pp 22

Tertiary 16 þ 0.03 pp 35

Other 11 11

Non-formal 11 11

Local

government

District HQ LC 5 30 30

County HQ 20 20

Sub-county

HQ

LC 3 10 10

Parish HQ 5 5

Source: IT Power Team, Indicative Rural Electrification Master Plan (IREMP)

Project, Uganda.a pp, per pupil; pbed, per bed.

benefit point values were agreed upon at the ‘Rural Electrifica-tion Criteria’ stakeholders’ workshop after comparison withother studies done in South Africa and Namibia. The benefitpoints averages were then allocated to each demand centre(health centres, schools, local government HQs) throughoutthe country.

4.4. Applied benefit point system at district level (LC5)

4.4.1. Methodology used

(1) For any sector (x), the sum of benefit points (BPx) is cal-culated within each sub-county (LC3) administrativeboundary in that district as a function of that sector:

BPx ¼ Ffxg

where x is the sector description.

(2) For each sub-county the overall total sum of benefit pointsfor the combination of sectors is calculated:�BPx þBPyþ.

�¼ BPfx;y.g

Table 2

Sum of Benefit Points for households [BPHH]

Sub-county Sum of households ¼sum of benefit

points [BPHH]

Buhesi 6672

Bukuuku 4294

Busoro 5419

Central 5754

Eastern 3181

Hakibale 8396

Karambi 5989

Kibiito N/A

Kichwamba 5408

Kisomoro 6159

Mugusu 4145

Ruteete 9169

Rwimi 5351

Southern 3452

Western 3734

Table 3

Sum of Benefit Points for health centres [BPHC]

Subcounty No. health

centres

Sum of benefit

points [BPHC]

Buheesi 1 30

Bukuku 1 70

Busoro 2 20

Eastern 1 30

Hakibale 3 70

Kibiito 4 160

Kicwamba 1 30

Kisomoro 1 30

Mugusu 3 50

Ruteete 4 60

Rwiimi 2 40

Southern 3 300

Western 2 20


(3) Within the district administrative boundary (LC5), theoverall total sum benefit point value is applied to eachsub-county and mapped to give a priority pattern for thosesectors.

(4) The priority pattern is colour-coded such that the areaswith the highest benefit point value are coloured red andthe areas with the lowest benefit point value are colouredgreen and those in between are coloured yellow.

4.5. Example: Kabarole district

Kabarole district is located in western Uganda. It contains15 sub-counties and for each of the following sectors, thesum of benefit points was calculated within each sub-county(LC3) boundary:

(i) Households (Table 2): In rural Uganda the household set-tlement patterns and population distribution are highlyrandom, so these results have been kept separate but adja-cent to the benefit point allocations when developing theoverall priority pattern. Households are proportionate topopulation and the assumption is made that 1 householdcontains 5 people. According to the BP formulae, there-fore, the estimated number of households is 1/5 of thesum population within a sub-county which is equal tothe sum of benefit points and this is the base unit: 1 house-hold ¼ 5 people ¼ 1 benefit point.

(ii) Health centres: In Kabarole District, a total of 28 healthcentres were found of which there were: 11 HC IIs, 12HC IIIs, 2 HC IVs and 3 hospitals. These HCs are distrib-uted throughout 12 sub-counties and their benefit pointshave been summed in Table 3.

Table 4

Sum of Benefit Points for schools [BPSCH]

Subcounty No. schools Sum of benefit

points [BPSCH]

Buheesi 16 212

Bukuuku 19 303

Busoro 7 104

East division 1 35

Eastern 11 182

Hakibale 12 187

Karambi 10 140

Kibiito 25 366

Kicwamba 17 223

Kisomoro 20 280

Mugusu 8 106

Ruteete 21 315

Rwiimi 14 198

Southern 16 285

Western 7 94

Table 5

Sum of Benefit Points for local government headquarters [BPHQ]

Subcounty No. local government

headquarters

Sum of benefit

points [BPHQ]

Buheesi 2 15

(iii) Schools: A total of 204 schools were found in Kabaroledistrict distributed throughout all 13 sub-counties. Ofthis total there were four categories of school types foundand these were divided as: 154 primary schools, 40 sec-ondary schools, 8 tertiary schools and 2 others. Theirsum of benefit points was then calculated within eachsub-county (Table 4).

(iv) Local government HQs: The local government headquar-ters are the seat of district planning, and act as a vitallink to central government. The main town council forKabarole district is found in Fort Portal town where theelectricity sub-station is located. The parish HQ and thesub-county HQ are located in the same sub-county andtheir sum of benefit points is given in Table 5.

These results then give the overall total sum of benefit pointswithin each of the sub-counties of Kabarole district, for the spe-cific sectors calculated. The results are displayed in Table 6.

Fig. 8 shows the detailed infrastructure of Kabarole district,including the distribution of schools divided into categories,health centres divided into different grades, local governmentheadquarters and the population distribution by sub-county.The road network under the electric lines indicates where pos-sible grid extensions could be made to target high benefit areasand also where off-grid electricity generation could be targeted.

Fig. 9 shows the total sum benefit points (BP{HC,SCH,HQ})given for each sub-county in Kabarole district based on thesector activity contained within it (not including population).A clear priority pattern can already be seen in Kabarole dis-trict, with the red indicating the sub-counties with the highestbenefit points and therefore the areas with the highest electri-fication needs, and the green indicating the sub-counties withthe lowest benefit points and therefore areas with relativelylower electrification needs. This priority pattern is for electri-fying schools, hospitals and local government headquarters inKabarole district at the level of district planning.

This benefit point analysis can be used for any district. Itcan also be extended to other sectors and used as a planningtool for privatisation. The areas with the highest BP could

Table 6

Overall total sum of benefit points by sub-county in Kabarole district

Subcounty BPHH BPHC BPSCH BPHQ Total sum

BP{HC, SCH, HQ}

Buhesi 6672 30 212 15 257

Bukuuku 4294 70 303 0 373

Busoro 5419 20 104 0 124

Central 5754 0 35 0 35

Eastern 3181 30 182 0 212

Hakibale 8396 70 187 0 257

Karambi 5989 0 140 0 140

Kibiito N/a 160 366 0 526

Kichwamba 5408 30 223 0 253

Kisomoro 6159 30 280 0 310

Mugusu 4145 50 106 0 156

Ruteete 9169 60 315 0 375

Rwimi 5351 40 198 0 238

Southern 3452 300 285 0 585

Western 3734 20 94 0 114


Fig. 8. Kabarole district detailed infrastructure, including school by type, health centres by grade, local government headquarters and estimated sum population

pattern by sub-county.

be selected as priority rural electrification areas and tested af-ter selective implementation of specific supply schemes.

5. Theme A: supply side

5.1. The case for off-grid options in rural Uganda

On the ground, the rural terrain and settlement patterns inUganda are some of the major obstacles to electricity infrastruc-ture planning. Typically, a village is identified by its tradingcentre where most business activity is centred. These tradingcentres are usually found along the main road and are often dis-tributed sparsely and randomly, many miles apart from village

to village. Beyond the road network and in between the tradingcentres, are many rural households located in isolation amongstfarmland, plantations or natural vegetation following no partic-ular layout plan. The natural terrain can also sometimes bemountainous and less penetrable. In these remote, hard to reachareas where grid supplies are impractical, people generallymeet their energy needs for lighting and cooking by usingwood fuel because it is ‘free’ [5].

These areas would almost certainly benefit from small-scaleoff-grid renewable energy generation such as mini-hydro. Theirstandards of living would be elevated to socially and politicallyacceptable levels, and it would also be environmentally benefi-cial by removing a dependence upon the combustion of woody


Fig. 9. Kabarole district benefit point allocation by sub-county: priority pattern for electrifying schools, health centres and local government headquarters; red

indicates greater benefits and higher priority, green indicates lesser benefits and lower priority.

biomass. Specific criteria therefore need to be sought for eacharea in order to judge the best technical options for off-grid sup-ply to rural households. This should be based on the natural re-sources available in each given area, though due to its relativeadvantage compared to other natural resources in Uganda, theinitial focus for the supply-side will be on hydro power.

5.2. Potential small-scale hydro schemes

Uganda is at the heart of the Great Lakes region of EastAfrica. Not only does it co-host the world’s largest freshwater

lake, Lake Victoria, it also boasts the source of the mightyRiver Nile which starts at the waterfalls in Jinja, and runs allthe way through the country, up to Egypt. In addition, thereare plenty more rivers and lakes that spill over from thesemaking it a very lush and fertile country. Hydropower is anabundant natural resource over much of rural Uganda. Conse-quently, Uganda’s electricity supply system is dominated byhydropower nearly 100 times greater than any other source.The total hydropower capacity in Uganda is estimated to bein excess of 2000 MW, compared with the current installedgeneration of less than 250 MW [6]. There are therefore plenty


of potential sites for small-hydro schemes, which are, as yet,under-developed.

Small-scale hydro installations in rural areas could then of-fer considerable financial benefits to the communities served,particularly where careful planning identifies income-generat-ing uses for power. Their simplicity means that small-hydroschemes not only provide renewable energy, but are alsocheaper to maintain, given basic training. The main advantageof small-hydro schemes is that they do not require a dam orstorage facility to be constructed; it simply diverts waterfrom the river, channels it into a valley and ‘drops’ it into a tur-bine via ‘penstock’ (pipeline). This type of hydro generatingwould thus avoid the damaging environmental and social ef-fects that larger hydroelectric systems can cause. It wouldseem that for Uganda’s rural population who are materiallypoor but have a great wealth of nature at their disposal, thismost basic, self-sustaining and least-cost method of powergeneration could prove to be the most appropriate of all.

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank Dr Albert Rugumayo, Ministry of Energyand Minerals Development, Uganda for his invaluable

guidance and advice. I also wish to thank the IT Powerteam, particularly Dr Jonathan Bates, for useful discussions,and Chris Purcell and Duncan Brewer for the invaluable datainput. Thanks also to Professor Gaddi Ngirane-Katashaya,Makerere University for his supervision. The views expressedin these papers are those of the author.

References

[1] Ministry of Energy & Minerals Development (MEMD), Republic of

Uganda. Rural electrification strategy and plan covering the period 2001

to 2010; 2001.

[2] United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations-

Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA). African

experts meeting on the 10YFP. The African 10 year framework

programme (10YFP) on sustainable consumption and production; 2005.


Uganda. The energy policy for Uganda; 2002.

[4] Department for International Development (DFID), Knowledge and

Research. Energy project summaries:<http://www.dfid-kar-energy.org.uk>.


Uganda. National biomass energy demand strategy 2001 to 2010; 2001.

[6] Government of Uganda. Uganda power sector restructuring and privatisa-

tion, new strategy plan and implementation plan; 1999.

http://www.dfid-kar-energy.org.uk

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