Kasese, Rubirizi locals get solar power

Until 2019, most residents of Kasenyi Landing Site in Kasese District were either using candles or kerosene lamps for lighting. 

The landing site, which is on the shores of Lake George, was not connected to the national grid.

The World Wide Fund for Nature Uganda office under the Scaling-Up Rural Electrification Using Innovative Solar Photo Voltaic Distribution Models project in 2015 embarked on a project to connect the area and six others to the solar-powered mini grid with funding from the European Union and other partners.

Residents can finally engage in economic activities using the 39 kilowatts electricity provided by solar panels.

Mr James Kahungu, a resident of the landing site, who owns a bar, says for years he has been incurring high costs while running the business on generator. 

He says when the officials from WWF and Sage Wood Limited, the company that constructed the mini grid, switched on the power a few months ago, each resident was given eight units of power as bonus.

“With that eight units, I made more than Shs800,000 and I am the happiest. The coming of this solar power has saved us a lot because now we can put away our generators that used to make a lot of noise, destroy the environment and all the costs that come with it. This will change our lives and we shall be able to make more money,” he said.

Several other residents have embraced the free connection policy under the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). 

Mr Gerald Masereka, a businessman at the landing site, who owns an electronics shop, said he started receiving more customers after the connection.

“Right now, I can sell more than 500 metres of power cables daily and it’s really good,” he says.

Mr Masereka said in the past many people were idle and would engage in vices such as poaching and illegal fishing .

Mr Robert Kirungi, the manager of Global Petrol Station at the landing site, said they used to pump petrol manually.

“This mini grid has come as a relief. We were two here working and each day we would pump the fuel manually, which was very difficult, but now using the power, the system is very fast and we don’t waste a lot of time,” he says.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development at the weekend commissioned a number of mini solar grids in Kasese and Rubirizi districts, bringing access to power to the rural fishing communities that were not be connected to the national grid.

The project implemented by the World Wide Fund for Nature with funding from the European Union and a number of other partners hopes to transform the fishing communities into productive units and help provide alternative livelihoods, and protect the natural resources with Queen Elizabeth National Park.

In Kasese District, a 39 kilowatts mini grid was commissioned at Kasenyi Landing Site on the shores of Lake George, while similar mini grids were also switched on at Kisenyi and other parts of Rubirizi District.

Due to the nature of their locations, most communities had lost hope of being connected to electricity.

Mr David Duli, the country director of WWF Uganda, while handing over the mini grid to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development said a total of €4.8 million was spent on constructing the six mini grids in Kasese and Rubirizi districts. 

He said they focused on the Albertine rift because of its biodiversity, need for energy and biodiversity to coexist peacefully.

“The Albertine Rift has the highest diversity of ecosystem so energy becomes an important component whose exploitation must coexist with this biodiversity. The focus of this is for the rural communities who are poor, for schools and  health centres in this area,” he said.

As of now, of 7.3 million households in the country, about 5.3 million do not have access to electricity and Mr Duli attributed this to supply gaps. 

“Our people cannot afford to pay for this electricity because it is expensive to generate electricity and distribute it. Four out of 10 people in this country live in houses with electricity and the rest do not, so we have a huge gap of supplies,” he said.

Mr Duli said the six solar power mini grids have a total capacity of 179.625 kilowatts of electricity and will supply power to an estimated 1,800 households and 250 businesses.

“The capacity that we have installed here has that potential. As we launch this mini grid, 791 households and 250 businesses have already been connected. So you can see the thirst for having electricity is very big,” he said.

He added: “We did a research to understand what would be the implication of using solar, we found out that if you used this solar, the expenditure on kerosene and other forms of lighting is reduced by 81 percent per month and the monthly expenditure on charging phones reduced by 80 percent.” 

Clean energy

The State Minister for Mineral Development, Dr Peter Lokeris, in his speech urged communities to make good use of the solar power. 

He said the construction of the mini grid is a testimony to government’s commitment to increase renewable energy in our country.

“Our level of electricity access is 57 percent, with the off grid systems, mainly solar contributing 38 percent and grid connectivity standing at 19 percent. Our per capita electricity consumption stands at 215 kilowatts per hour, against Africa’s 552kw and the global average of 2975kw/h/capita,” Dr Lokeris said.

He added: “These figures are still low and clear indication of the need for the country to increase the electricity connectivity. There is limited productive use of electricity, especially in rural areas which negatively affects growth.”

The minister said renewable energy has the potential to enhance energy security and reliability as well as mitigate climate change.

The European Union programme officer, Mr Jesus Gavilan, said the EU is committed to supporting the country to combat the effects of climate change through sustainable innovative initiatives such as solar power systems and renewable energy clean sources.

He also said the EU will provide substantial grants in the next coming years because it attaches great importance to electricity generation and transmission for economic development.

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