The Government of Uganda (GoU), with support from the World Bank, is preparing the Uganda Energy Access Scale-up Project (EASP). The proposed EASP will support GoU’s efforts to scale-up access to electricity for households, refugee and host communities, industrial parks, commercial enterprises and public institutions, so as to spur socio-economic transformation, in line with Uganda’s Vision 2040 and other Government policies. EASP activities will build on earlier Government initiatives, in the energy sector, to support the expansion and strengthening of the electricity distribution network, scale-up service connections within the network, and increase access to off-grid electricity in refugee settlements and their host communities, and to clean cooking services outside the electricity distribution network.

Further, the project will provide technical assistance to strengthen the operational capacity of the Health, Safety and Environment Unit (HSEU) at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) and build capacities at other implementing agencies to ensure compliance with HSEU requirements under the project. Technical assistance will also be provided to the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) to attract the private sector and enable its participation in increasing electricity access, both in grid and off-grid areas, including, where necessary, through the introduction of new regulations.

In addition, EASP will support Uganda’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to mitigate climate change, through a series of priority and adaptation measures, including building enabling infrastructure such as medium voltage (MV) and low voltage (LV) networks, implementing associated electricity service connections, promoting the development and use of renewable energy sources through off-grid solar solutions for households, and for public institutions such as schools, health centers, administrative buildings, and water supply schemes, and increasing efficiency in the use of biomass.