The Uganda Rural Urban Electrification (URUE) survey has indicated that generators are a major source of power for households and businesses in the East African nation
The survey, conducted by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBS), noted that 73 per cent users across Uganda found generator power more reliable than any other source. Generator power is mainly used for lighting, television, charging mobile phones and radio.
According to the URUE survey results, 2.3 per cent households utilised power from a generator. While 2.4 per cent of rural homes used generators, only 1.4 per cent of urban homes relied on the same. The central region of Uganda accounted for the highest use with 3.5 per cent, followed by Kampala alone registering 2.3 per cent.
About 17.5 per cent of economic establishments and businesses used generators, with urban businesses found to be more reliant on generators than rural ones. Kampala emerged as the region with the highest user percentage at 40.6, while eastern and northern Uganda registered just 10.6 per cent.
In the education sector, 36 per cent of institutions like schools and colleges depended on generators. However, 69 per cent of these institutions were found in rural areas alone.
Meanwhile, only 31.2 per cent of health institutions used generator power. Here, urban health centres showed a better user margin — 35.8 per cent compared to 28.7 per cent in rural Uganda.
The UBS has pointed out that the generator power referred to here is strictly what is generated for subsistence consumption and excludes power generated for sale to the national or independent grids.
The survey has covered generator power usage across 111 districts of Uganda with the main objective of verifying and updating the existing data on electrification levels by providing baseline indicators for the different socio-economic indicators in the country.
— By Geoffrey Muleme
