Government calls for private investment in solar, energy storage

Government has called for increased private sector investment in solar power and energy storage systems as Uganda seeks to meet rising electricity demand and achieve universal access to electricity by 2030.

Dr Brian Isabirye, the commissioner for Energy Resources at the ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, said private investment would be critical in expanding generation, improving reliability and lowering the cost of electricity for households and industries.

Speaking at the recently-held Partner Summit 2026 under the theme: “Lighting Up a Greener Uganda,” Isabirye noted the growing role of solar energy and battery storage in Uganda’s energy transition.

He said the private sector provides the investments, technology and skills needed to translate government energy policies into practical projects.

“It is you, the private sector, that provides the critical private investments, the technologies and the skills that Ugandans need to turn the direction that is set by policy,” Dr Isabirye said.

He acknowledged Huawei’s technical support in the development of Uganda’s sustainable energy programmes, saying the company had contributed to the incorporation of technologies such as inverters and energy storage into national planning.

Uganda’s installed electricity generation capacity has grown in recent years, with hydropower remaining the dominant source. About 95 per cent of the country’s installed generation capacity comes from renewable sources, mainly hydropower.

He cited the 600-megawatt Karuma Hydropower Project as an important addition to Uganda’s generation capacity and warned that increased generation should not create the impression that Uganda has more electricity than it needs.

The peak demand currently stands at about 1,000 megawatts and is expected to continue rising as industrialisation and economic activity expand. Uganda’s electricity tariffs also declined in 2025, with the average tariff falling from about Shs 460 to Shs 395 per unit.

The reduction was deliberate, particularly for industrial consumers, because the government wants to attract investment and make Ugandan products more competitive.

“We want to ensure that we are attracting industries and making our productivity higher because then we are producing competitive products,” he said.

Uganda currently has about 2.5 million electricity consumers, with the number growing by approximately 10 per cent annually. The expansion of access and demand had exposed persistent challenges within the electricity sector, particularly reliability, distribution losses and affordability.

“Frequent power outages and voltage fluctuations continue to push institutions and businesses to install solar systems and backup generators. The proliferation of institutions moving to solar is a response to some of these challenges, specifically reliability. Every outage means stopped machines and loss of production,” he said.

Electricity distribution losses remain another major concern, with more than 18 per cent of electricity lost at the distribution level. Reducing these losses would help lower costs across the electricity sector and improve the efficiency of the power system.

The government is targeting electricity prices of about five US cents per unit, which would make power more competitive for industries. Dr Isabirye said the energy sector would require about $8 billion in investment annually by the end of the decade, making private capital indispensable because public resources alone cannot finance the required expansion.

Dr Isabirye said Uganda’s favourable solar resource gives the country an opportunity to expand solar generation and battery storage as complementary sources to the national grid.

He said Uganda enjoys strong sunshine throughout the year and cited the International Energy Agency’s assessment that the country has a stronger solar resource than Spain.

“Gone are the days when solar was seen as intangible technology. Solar has become even more reliable than other traditional sources of energy.Solar and battery storage at the factory, the hospital and the farm complements the national grid. It cuts energy costs, keeps operations running during outages, and frees up grid capacity for others,” he said.

He said this would allow Uganda to make better use of its electricity infrastructure while expanding access to reliable and affordable power.

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