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Uganda country overview - draft version
[top] [end]A. Household energy demand and use[top] [end]A.1 IntroductionThe total population of Uganda in 2000 was 22.2 million, with 3.6 million (16.4%) in urban areas and 18.6 million (83.6%) in rural areas. There is a marked and quite rapid process of urban migration underway from poor rural parts of the country, especially where there has been war, and mostly into Kampala. The majority of households cook twice per day, and the main foods cooked are maize, millet, beans, bananas, groundnuts, fish, potatoes, cassava, sorghum and meat.[top] [end]A.2 CookingIn rural areas, there is almost universal reliance on biomass fuels, mainly wood, for cooking but also with significant use of crop residues and animal dung. In most rural homes these fuels are burned in traditional 3-stone fires, although there is some use of improved stoves (mainly mud stoves without chimneys). Biomass is also the main fuel for the urban poor, but there is considerably more use of charcoal which is burned in simple metal stoves or ceramic lined improved stoves. Although kerosene is widely available, it is used mainly for lighting. The use of LPG for cooking (and other purposes) is currently very limited in Uganda, due to inter-related issues of cost of appliances (including bottles), low affordability for the large number of poor people, and inadequate supply. Likewise, electricity is used by only a small minority for cooking.[top] [end]A.3 Space heatingSpace heating needs vary across the country according to elevation and climate, but are minimal in lower lying parts of the country. Where there is a need for heating, this is usually provided by the biomass fire during cooking, or by keeping it alight when people gather for social events.[top] [end]A.4 Hot waterHot water is required for drinks, and for washing dishes, clothes and for personal hygiene. As for coking and space heating, almost all low-income households rely on biomass (mainly wood) for this purpose.[top] [end]A.5 LightingIn homes using biomass, light from the fire is an important source of illumination. But, around 90% of homes use kerosene for lighting, mostly in simple wick lamps or lanterns. Around 5% of the population has access to grid electricity, but only 2% of rural homes and access for low-income households may be even lower. As a result, dry cell and lead-acid batteries are used for light in around 90% and 10% of homes respectively.[top] [end]A.6 Refrigeration and space coolingAlthough there might be considerable demand for refrigeration, this is unmet for the great majority of low-income households. Electricity, gas, kerosene, and solar fuelled refrigerators are in use, but probably by less than 5% of all homes. Space cooling (air conditioning) is not an issue for low-income households.[top] [end]A.7 Communications and entertainment servicesGiven the fact that only 20% of rural areas have access to grid electricity, batteries are the main source of power for radios and televisions. Of those without grid access, more than 90% of homes using batteries for various purposes rely on dry-cells and around 10% on lead-acid batteries. The use of the latter is restricted by lack of recharging facilities and distances in rural areas.[top] [end]A.8 Household appliancesVery little information appears to be available on household appliances, although for low-income homes these will be restricted to little more than radio, possibly TV, and an iron that would normally be heated on the wood fire, or with charcoal.[top] [end]A.9 Energy for micro-enterprisesThe main types of micro-enterprise outside of the home are rural computer schools, rural schools, video show rooms, and shops that need to be lit in the evenings. In the home, women may wish to work in the evenings. Kerosene is the main fuel for lighting, and grid electricity where this is available. Grid electricity, or batteries (see A7), are used for enterprises using appliances.[top] [end]A.10 Summary and conclusionsThere is a wide diversity of energy sources available in Uganda, and these are used for a similar wide diversity of applications. However, the actual patterns of use by low-income households are very constrained by poverty and supply. In rural homes wood, supplemented by dung and crop residues, are overwhelmingly the most important energy sources for cooking, space heating (where/when required), heating water, and for some important micro-enterprises. Most poor homes burn biomass fuels in traditional 3-stone fires. Charcoal takes on this role as the main cooking fuel for the poor in urban areas due to the difficulties of transporting wood into the cities. Kerosene use is widespread, but mainly for lighting. Access to grid electricity is still very restricted for low-income groups, especially rural, which effectively rules out this modern energy source even for lighting. LPG use is similarly restricted to higher income groups. Other power sources such as photo-voltaic (PV) solar have made relatively small contributions so far.[top] [end]B. Household energy supply[top] [end]B.1 IntroductionFrom Section A it can be appreciated that wood and charcoal are the household fuels used most by low income groups, so issues of supply and sustainability from forests are critical. Kerosene is the most important fossil fuel, and with no oil reserves, Uganda needs to import oil (also for LPG, diesel, etc.) using foreign currency. Electricity is generated mainly by hydro-electric power, with some from fossil fuel.[top] [end]B.2 WoodIn general, rural households collect wood from the surrounding countryside, while in urban areas wood and charcoal are transported into the cities and sold through many small outlets. A total of 13.5 million tonnes (5.23 million toe) of wood are used by households annually, outstripping supply by 3.8 million tonnes of wood per year. As a result, households are finding that wood is becoming increasingly scarce, requiring more time and effort to collect. Most poor homes use 3-stones fires, with only 1% and 11% of rural and urban homes respectively using improved stoves. In rural areas most wood is gathered, but in urban areas it is usually purchased, with prices typically in the range 16 to 38 Euro per toe.[top] [end]B.3 Crop residues / dungThese fuels are used mainly in rural areas, in the same types of stoves as for wood - typically 3-stone fires. It is estimated that around 2 million tonnes of crop residue/dung is used, but data are not available on the number of homes that regularly use these fuels.[top] [end]B.4 CharcoalA total of 3.12 million tonnes (2.31 million toe) of charcoal are used each year, considerably less than the figure for wood, but this is a very important fuel for urban communities where it is used by poor and better-off homes. Data are not available on the number of homes that regularly use charcoal. The most common device for burning charcoal is a metal stove, with or without a ceramic liner. Supply is lower, and prices higher, in the wet season. Quoted price of 200 Euro per toe (Entebbe). The background information from a project on charcoal production and marketing designed by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development indicated that in Kampala city, in 1995, it was estimated that a population of 1,061 million people consumed 205,825 tonnes of charcoal for cooking. Considering that there was an increase in population by 32% between 1994 and 1999, it was estimated that Kampala's consumption rose to 217,689 tonnes of charcoal, and of this Luwero, Nakasongola and Masindi districts contributed 124,705 tonnes (45.9%).[top] [end]B.5 CoalCoal is not available or used in Uganda[top] [end]B.6 KeroseneKerosene is the most widely used fuel for lighting, with only 5% of urban households using it regularly for cooking. Lighting is provided by metallic wick lamps or lanterns, while cooking is done on wick or primus stoves. Information that was available by 2002 indicated that a total of 42,400 toe of kerosene is used by households each year, and is available through petrol stations and some retail outlets. The price of kerosene has risen in recent years, and now stands at around 820 Euro per toe (Entebbe).[top] [end]B.7 LPGLPG is used by less than 2% of urban households, and very little by the poor.[top] [end]B.8 ElectricityElectricity is mainly available to the urban areas of Kampala, Entebbe and Jinja. A total of 362 million kWh is consumed by households per year, but the rate of connection is only 5% of homes for the whole country, and only 2% of rural homes. The majority if electricity is generated by hydro-electric power, and seasonal variations are minimal due to the large reservoir of Lake Victoria. The tariff for general residential use is 0.021 Euro per kWh. Appliance costs vary from around 20 Euro for a simple hotplate up to several hundred Euro for a good quality oven and rings.[top] [end]B.9 Summary and conclusionsThe majority of low-incomes homes in Uganda use wood (rural) or charcoal (urban), of which 5.23 million and 2.31 million toe respectively are used annually. Throughout the country there is a deficit of sustainable fuel wood supply. The majority of wood used by households is collected, not bought, which has (at least short-term) economic implications for any transition to commercial fuels. In contrast to the situation for wood, almost all charcoal is purchased. Around 2 million tonnes (less than 1 million toe) of dung and crop residue is used per year - for the same purposes as wood and mostly when the latter is in short supply - and all of this occurs outside of the commercial sector. Kerosene is distributed very widely, with some 42,000 toe used per year. LPG use remains low and restricted to urban areas, where it is estimated to be used by around 14,000 homes, so this remains a minority use fuel and still predominantly for the better-off.Cost comparisons are complicated by the fact that most wood and all dung & crop residue is collected rather than purchased, and because kerosene - and LPG appliances in particular - are far more fuel efficient that simple open wood fires (both the combustion efficiency and heat transfer). Hence, the energy available for cooking and other uses from one toe of these fuels (especially LPG) is considerably more than from one toe of wood burned in a 3-stone fire. However, taking the market prices, wood is the cheapest form of energy (16-38 Euro/toe) followed by charcoal (200 Euro/toe), kerosene (820 Euro/toe, marked up in rural areas). [top] [end]C. Household energy sector governance[top] [end]C.1 IntroductionAs has been seen in sections 1 and 2, the great majority of low-income homes rely for cooking on biomass in rural areas and biomass and charcoal in urban centres, with high use of kerosene for lighting throughout the country. Almost all biomass, and much charcoal, is supplied through the informal sector, although issues to do with land and forest management are run by set up Commissions with guidance from the government ministries. Grid electricity and LPG are currently used mainly by better-off minorities, and are therefore also important issues to consider with respect to policy development and governance.[top] [end]C.2 Household energy sector governance structureResponsibility for energy, including for low-income households, is held by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD). Other relevant areas of governance are led as follows:
Co-ordination of these different government institutions is by the MEMD in collaboration with the private sector, particularly energy companies. The energy companies, especially those that deal with renewable, set up their own non-governmental organisation called, Uganda renewable energy association (UREA). This coordinated effort of the private sector companies, for example, worked smoothly with the government ministry during the implementation of the Uganda photovoltaic pilot project, and illustrated one the forms of coordination that can be achieved between the government and the private sector. The project office worked directly with these companies through their coordination office and it was then possible to document data that was needed from the private sector companies and these companies could also lobby the Ministry concerning the needs they had, such as the request on reduced tariffs on importation of solar panels. [top] [end]C.3 Government policies/programmesThere appears to be no overall or co-ordinating policy directed at household energy for low-income homes. However, the 2002 National energy policy does consider energy in poor rural homes, within a national energy context, and includes a number of policy ideas that could contribute to improving access and stimulating demand. The lack of specificity for the circumstances of the poor may however be seen as a limitation.For biomass fuels, the Forestry sector plan has devised ways of establishing rules on resource management, supply and distribution. The effectiveness of these rules is yet to be assessed through the monitoring system that was set up. Some work is reported on improved cook stoves by MEMD, NGOs working on renewable energy and the private sector. Efficiency of cook stoves has been analysed by NGOs and in most cases this has been done in collaboration with Makerere University, Faculty of Forestry; department of physics and Faculty of technology. Dissemination of the cook stoves has mainly been done by NGOs, which work with rural and peri-urban communities. Although fuel-efficient cook stoves have been taken up effectively, especially in peri-urban and rural areas, some NGOs have reported cases where these have been abandoned in cases where the cooking habits of such communities were not taken into consideration while designing the stoves. In common with other countries in the region, the supply of petroleum products, including kerosene and LPG, was liberalised. A subsidy is still applied to the purchase price of kerosene. The energy policy takes into consideration the need to widen access to LPG. The government's rural electrification programme (delivered via the Rural Electrification Agency), includes the aims of rural development and poverty reduction. Connection rates for poor and rural areas remain very low, but a number of interesting policies have recently been introduced. These include 'smart subsidies' for rural electricity production, promoting single wire earth return technology, leasing solar PV systems, use of load limiters, and pre-payment metering. Also described is the Uganda Photovoltaic Pilot Project (2000-2002) that worked on enabling poor rural households to access solar PV systems. Credit facilities for purchase of solar panels were provided through village banks that were nearer to the communities. This project has started to be replicated in other areas where the pilot project did not reach and private sector companies have continued to provide solar panels through a credit facility arrangement with village banks. Information on the number of homes, educational and health institutions that have managed to access solar PV through such arrangements will soon be available from studies currently underway. [top] [end]C.4 Summary and conclusionsThe governance of energy as used by households in Uganda, particularly for low-income groups, is shared across a number of government departments and agencies. One of these, the MEMD has some responsibility for co-ordination through the implementation and monitoring of the energy policy. There is some innovative action for example in promoting rural electrification, although this has yet to work through to implementation on a large scale. Liberalisation of the petroleum market in recent years is important, and this has pushed up the price of kerosene. Policies to improve access to LPG need to be supported.[top] [end]D. Household energy information[top] [end]D.1 IntroductionThis report draws on national survey data on household energy, and a number of other more specific studies and sources.[top] [end]D.2 Availability and quality of information on the household energy sectorThe following sources of information were available for this report:
[top] [end]D.3 Responsibility for collection of household energy informationThe principal responsibility for obtain information and making this available, lies with government institutions.[top] [end]D.4 Summary and conclusionsThe most important population based information has come from the household energy planning programme report carried out by MEMD, Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and the Ugandan National Bureau of Statistics. Although useful, this is acknowledged not to be fully representative of rural areas, and is now almost 15 years old. A new, more representative national survey would therefore appear to be a priority for planning and monitoring purposes. A number of other useful studies and documents on energy and policy have been identified.Sparknet, May 2004 Categories: Uganda| Country Profiles | |
 Page created:
10 June 2004; Last edited:
30 May 2007; Version: 1 | |
Pagename: UgandaCountrySynthesis @HEDON: CFBA | |
