UDB commits Shs148.5b to boost access to electricity 

Uganda Development Bank (UDB) has committed Shs148.5b to enable 550,000 households access electricity.
The money will be available under the Hybrid Electricity Customer Connection Credit Framework through a partnership with Electricity Regulatory Authority and Ministry of Energy. 
Speaking at the launch of the framework in Kampala early this week, Ms Patricia Ojangole, the UDB managing director, said availability of sustainable energy is critical for economic growth, poverty reduction, as well as social and cultural transformation.   

Therefore, she noted, stakeholders must get involved in key sectors of the economy to attain sustainable growth. 
“We [want] to promote the hybrid connection framework which aims at enhancing electricity access,” she said. 
The framework is based on the 2020 connection costs, where a no-pole connection is charged at Shs720,883. 
Under the framework, a customer will be required to make a down-payment of Shs200,000 while a provision of Shs270,000 will be advanced as credit by UDB, which will be recovered as a proportion of energy purchase by a customer over eight years. 

Customers will also benefit from a Shs250,883 subsidy
Speaking at the same function, Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, said the framework will be key in bridging the gap to electricity access.
Uganda still lags in energy access with more than half of population living without electricity, while 95 percent live without clean cooking solutions.