Uganda's Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) has announced new electricity prices
Bahati shalom
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Uganda's Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) has announced new electricity tariffs for the period from April to June 2025, focusing on lowering rates for industrial and manufacturing consumers. The changes aim to make electricity more affordable.
The announcement came just before the end of Umeme’s concession. The new tariffs, which take effect at midnight on Monday, will apply to the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL). Dr. Sarah Wasagali Kanaabi, Chairperson of the ERA Board, stated that these tariffs followed an extensive review and public consultation.
Key tariff adjustments include:
Lifeline Tariff: Shs 250 per unit for domestic users who consume up to 100 units.
Domestic Tariff: Shs 756.2 per unit for consumers using over 15 units.
Commercial Tariff: Shs 546.4 per unit.
Medium Industrial Tariff: Shs 355.1 per unit.
Manufacturing Tariff: Shs 412.5 per unit.
Large Industrial Tariffs: Shs 282.9 to Shs 300.4 per unit.
Extra-Large Industrial Tariffs: Shs 203.6 per unit.
Public Amenities Tariff: Shs 360 per unit.
The connection charges will remain unchanged. Additionally, the domestic cooking tariff of Shs 412 per unit will continue for users consuming between 81 and 150 units.
ERA considered factors like a projected 10.4% annual demand growth, the end of Umeme’s license, and quarterly tariff adjustments when setting the new rates. The performance targets of UEDCL and steps to reduce manufacturing tariffs were also key considerations, along with the appreciation of the Ugandan shilling against the US dollar.
Dr. Wasagali mentioned that ERA will continue reviewing tariffs for public amenities and industrial consumers. The declining block tariff for large manufacturers will remain in place, but the block tariff for extra-large manufacturers will be removed.
Julius Wandera, ERA’s Communications Director, attributed the tariff cuts to macroeconomic factors such as exchange rates, inflation, and global fuel prices. He also noted that with Umeme’s exit, there will be no more investment costs, which will lead to a gradual reduction in tariffs, particularly benefiting extra-large manufacturers.
Wandera added that ERA’s goal of achieving a 0.5 US cent per unit tariff for manufacturers has been achieved. This update follows ERA’s earlier tariff reduction for the first quarter of 2025, which aimed to make electricity more affordable for domestic users and small businesses, in line with the NRM Manifesto directive to lower electricity costs for manufacturing.
