Business 3 May 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Uganda's Electricity Demand Surges 21% in 2025 Amid Waterweed and Plant Challenges
Uganda's electricity demand rose 21 percent in 2025 due to higher domestic use and exports, with hydropower providing most supply despite disruptions from waterweeds at key plants like Karuma and Kiira-Nalubaale. Bujagali emerged as the most reliable performer, helping mitigate outages and load shedding. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/business/markets/electricity-sector-takes-two-steps-back-for-one-in-front-5445124
Uganda’s electricity sector saw significant growth in 2025, with system demand climbing to a peak of 1,350.61MW, driven by a 19.86 percent rise in domestic demand to 1,166.18MW and increased exports to neighbors like Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and DRC.
Gross domestic energy generation reached 7,827.5 GWh, up 19.09 percent from 2024, mainly from large hydropower plants along the River Nile, which accounted for 72.73 percent of output.
However, challenges persisted, including waterweed invasions clogging intake gates at Kiira-Nalubaale complex, Isimba, and Karuma dams, leading to outages, flooding, and load shedding, especially from September to November.
Karuma, operational since 2024, supplied 1,090.41 GWh but operated unreliably at about 50 percent capacity due to waterweeds and ongoing defects under its liability period. Isimba also saw minimal growth, hampered by glitches.
Bujagali hydropower plant stood out, delivering 1,636.93 GWh at 95 percent average dispatch, covering deficits from other plants and earning praise from regulators for its resilience.
Experts highlight the lack of floating boom lines at major dams, forcing costly manual weed control—Shs386.35m spent at Isimba and Nalubaale-Kiira—exacerbating breakdowns and load shedding, as distributors like UEDCL ration available power.
Exports grew notably, with net sales to Kenya up to 243.08 GWh and to Rwanda reaching 215.96 GWh, supported by new transmission lines.
Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)