Museveni to Commission 600MW Karuma Hydropower Dam

President Yoweri Museveni will officially commission the 600 megawatt Karuma hydropower project, the biggest in Africa.

The project is set to reduce the overall weighted average generation Tarriff.

“Karuma HPP is set to reduce the overall weighted average generation tariff. The efforts to reduce the end-user tariff remain a key aspiration of the country as an enabler for social and economic transformation,” ERA said on X.

According to government, a target of achieving universal access to electricity by 2030 was set with plans to connect an additional 1.5 million households to the National grid, and increase the electrification rate from 28% to 50%.

According to ERA, as of December 2022, Uganda had an installed electricity capacity of 1,402 megawatts, but with the addition of Karuma, it is expected to increase to nearly 2,000 megawatts.

In October 2023, the Government launched the Energy Policy 2023 to scale up access to electricity for households, refugee and host communities, industrial parks, commercial enterprises, and public institutions, to spur socio-economic transformation, in line with Uganda’s Vision 2040.

The commissioning of the Karuma hydropower plant significantly boosts Uganda’s power generation capacity.

Construction of the Karuma hydropower dam began in December 2013, with an initial completion target set for December 2019. However, the project was delayed due to the identification of critical defects, vandalism, among others.