Museveni instructs ministry to boost electricity consumption

President Yoweri Museveni stated that the commissioning of the 600MW Karuma Hydropower Plant will support the country’s development goals. He directed the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development to explore ways of increasing electricity consumption per capita for all Ugandans.

The President made the remarks on Thursday during the official commissioning ceremony of the plant in Kiryandongo District.

Museveni also proposed four other strategic economic initiatives aimed at achieving sustainable economic development. These include modernizing the transport sector by focusing on railways and water transport, addressing the high cost of business financing, improving human capital through skills development, and leveraging regional markets.

“We are moving now but we are going to continue because there is no time to relax. The electricity we have here is enough because it is going to support all the factories very soon because right now the surplus is like 500 megawatts but very soon it will be overtaken,” Museveni said.

Additionally, Museveni instructed the Ministry of Energy to address the current low electricity consumption per capita, which stands at 218 kWh, emphasizing that developed countries have a per capita consumption of over 20,000 kWh.

 

Written by Mike Sebalu