Energy in Uganda
"[9] As of September 2017[update], according to Irene Muloni, the Uganda Minister of Energy, the country's generation capacity had increased to 950 megawatts.
[10] In March 2018, the World Bank Group estimated that about 26 percent of Uganda's population had access to grid-electricity at that time.
[14] 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.
[19] In September 2024, the 600 MW Karuma Hydroelectric Power Station was commercially commissioned, bringing national generation capacity to about 2,007 megawatts.
[20][21] Uganda aims to lower its greenhouse gas emissions by enacting measures in its energy, forestry and wetland sectors.
[37] Namanve and Tororo are used as stand-by power sources to avoid load-shedding when hydropower generation fails to meet demand.
[38] Five sugar manufacturers in Uganda have total cogeneration capacity of about 110 megawatts, of which about 50 percent is available for sale to the national grid.
[42] In 2006, Uganda confirmed the existence of commercially viable petroleum reserves in the Western Rift Valley around Lake Albert.
[43] In July 2007, Heritage Oil, one of several companies prospecting around Lake Albert, raised its estimate for the Kingfisher well (block 3A) in Hoima District, Bunyoro sub-region, stating that they thought it was bigger than 600 million barrels (95,000,000 m3) of crude.
Heritage's partner, London-based Tullow Oil, which had bought Hardman Resources, was more guarded, but stated their confidence that the Albertine Basin as a whole contained over one billion barrels.
[44] This news came on the heels of Tullow's 11 July 2007 report that the Nzizi 2 appraisal well confirmed the presence of 14 million cubic feet (400,000 m3) per day of natural gas.
[45] Relations between Uganda and the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been tense since the discovery of oil, as both countries seek to clarify the border delineation on the lake in their favor, in particular the ownership of small Rukwanzi Island.
Ugandan foreign minister Sam Kutesa made an emergency visit to Kinshasa in an attempt to smooth tensions.
[46] The Economist magazine, noting that the DRC has assigned exploration blocks on its side of the border, proposed that the situation should sort itself amicably: Uganda needs a stable and secure border in order to attract foreign investment developing the oil reserves, while the cost of transporting the oil to the DRC's sole port at Matadi is so prohibitive that the Congolese government is nearly obliged to seek pipeline access through Uganda.
[47] In February 2015, the Ugandan government selected the consortium led by Russia's RT Global Resources as the winning bidder, to construct the refinery.
If the parties failed to agree on terms, the government planned to negotiate with the losing bidder, the consortium led by SK Energy of South Korea, to construct the refinery.
[54] To diversify the national energy pool, the Electricity Regulatory Authority in December 2014 licensed two solar power stations, each with capacity to generate 10 megawatts.
[57] In January 2019, Kabulasoke Solar Power Station, a 20 megawatt development by a private IPP was commissioned and connected to the national grid.
