The Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) is a

parastatal A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

company whose primary purpose is to distribute electric power to domestic and commercial end-users in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, at and below 33 kiloVolts. This role was sub-leased to

Umeme Umeme Limited was the largest energy distributor in Uganda, distributing about 97 percent of all electricity used in the country. The shares of the stock of the company are listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) and are cross listed on ...

for a 20-year concession that ended on 31 March 2025.

Location

UEDCL headquarters are located on the sixth floor of UEDCL Towers, 37 Nakasero Road, Nakasero Hill, in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

, Uganda's capital and largest city. The coordinates of the company headquarters are 0°19'35.0"N, 32°34'38.0"E (Latitude:0.326390; Longitude:32.577222).

History

UEDCL was established in 2001 by an act of the Ugandan parliament following the break-up of the Uganda Electricity Board. In 2005, Umeme took over the majority of assets and responsibilities of UEDCL for a period of 20 years on a concessionary basis. Hut in Garden besides high voltage center

Hut in Garden besides high voltage center

In 2018, the Natural Resources Committee of the Ugandan Parliament weighed the benefits and consequences of terminating that concession earlier than 2025. The committee was informed by Joseph Katera, the UEDCL managing director, that the government needed to invest at least US$100 million on an annual basis, to maintain on-going operations. Another US$330 million break-up fee would be due to

at the time of premature termination.

Operations

During the period of the concession to Umeme, UEDCL has the following operations: (a) Monitor Umeme's adherence to the terms of the concession (b) Maintain and operate the off-grid power networks in the districts of

Adjumani Adjumani is a town in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial centre of Adjumani District. The district is named after the town. Location Adjumani is located in the West Nile sub-region, appro ...

, Moroto and Moyo and (c) Supervise the completion of the grid-expansion projects that were under construction by the Rural Electrification Network, a sister government agency, at the time the Umeme concession was initialized (d) Maintain, operate, and manage the electric pole treatment plant at Lugogo in Central Kampala.

Governance

UEDCL is governed by a seven-person

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

whose chairman is Francis Tumuheirwe. Other members of the board of directors include James Banabe Isingoma, Dr May Ssengendo, Habib Zaitun, Kalanguka Kayondho, Godfrey Turyahikayo & Christopher Mugisha. The Company's

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

is Paul Mwesigwa.

Developments

In February 2021, Ugandan online media reported that the

Electricity Regulatory Authority The Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) is a government agency that regulates, licenses, and supervises the generation, transmission, distribution, sale, export, and importation of electrical energy in Uganda. Location The offices of the ER ...

of Uganda had cancelled the electricity distribution license of ''Bundibugyo Energy Cooperative Society'' (BECS), which had been responsible for energy distribution in

Bundibugyo District Bundibugyo District is a Districts of Uganda, district in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda, bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The town of Bundibugyo is where both the district headquarters and the Bwamba Kin ...

. That license was immediately transferred to UEDCL. The affected distribution area includes

Ntoroko District Ntoroko District is a Districts of Uganda, district in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. The district headquarters are in the Kibbuuku town council. It is the second least populated district in Uganda. Location Ntoroko Distric ...

and parts of

Kabarole District Kabarole District is a Districts of Uganda, district in Western Region, Uganda, Western Uganda. Kabarole District is part of the Tooro Kingdom. Its main town was Fort Portal before 1 July 2020 when it was elevated to a city, separating it from Ka ...

. On 31 March 2025, following the end of UMEME's 20-year concession and the failure of the concerned parties to renew the concession, UMEME handed over the distribution of electricity in Uganda to UEDCL. There is a variance between the money UMEME expected as regards the buyout amount and what Uganda's Auditor General calculated. That difference will be settled in arbitration to take place in London, United Kingdom.

References

External links

UEDCL Homepage

As of 8 September 2015. {{coord, 00, 19, 35, N, 32, 34, 38, E, display=title Energy companies of Uganda Electric power infrastructure in Uganda Electric power companies of Uganda Energy companies established in 2001 Electric power distribution network operators Government-owned companies of Uganda 2001 establishments in Uganda