Residential Electricity in Uganda

Tsimpo, Clarence and Wodon, Quentin (2016): Residential Electricity in Uganda.

Abstract

This study provides a basic diagnostic of residential electricity coverage and affordability in Uganda and its relationship with poverty using a series of nationally representative household surveys for the period 2002-2013. The study first analyzes trends in residential electricity coverage using both administrative and survey data. Demand-side and supply-side factors reducing the take-up of electricity service by households in areas where the service is available are estimated. The study also documents the extent to which electricity enables household to shift time use away from domestic tasks and towards market work, and the effect that this may have on poverty. The targeting performance to the poor of the subsidies that existed until 2012 is estimated and the results obtained for Uganda are compared with similar estimates for other countries. Finally the study analyzes issues related to affordability, including the impact of the subsidy removal in 2012 on household consumption, poverty, and affordability, as well as the broader economy.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Electricity, Uganda, Utility tariffs
• Subjects: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty; L - Industrial Organization > L9 - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities

References

Alleyne, T., 2013, Energy Subsidy Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa: Experiences and Lessons, Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.

Angel-Urdinola, D., and Q. Wodon, 2007, Do Utility Subsidies Reach the Poor? Framework and Evidence for Cape Verde, Sao Tome, and Rwanda, Economics Bulletin, 9(4): 1-7.

Angel-Urdinola, D., and Q. Wodon, 2012, Does Increasing Access to Infrastructure Services Improve the Targeting Performance of Water Subsidies?, Journal of International Development, 24(1): 88-101.

Angel-Urdinola, D., M. Cosgrove-Davies, and Q. Wodon, 2006, Rwanda: Electricity Tariff Reform, in A. Coudouel, A. Dani and S. Paternostro, editors, Poverty and Social Impact Analysis of Reforms Lessons and Examples from Implementation, World Bank, Washington, DC.

Asian Development Bank, 2010, Asian Development Bank’s Assistance for Rural Electrification in Bhutan: Does Electrification Improve the Quality of Rural Life? Impact Evaluation Study, Manila: Asian Development Bank.

Banerjee, S., Q. Wodon, A. Diallo, and V. Foster, 2009, Trends in Household Coverage of Modern Infrastructure Services in Africa, Policy Research Working Paper No. 4880, World Bank, Washington, DC.

Banerjee, S., Q. Wodon, A. Diallo, T. Pushak, H. Uddin, C. Tsimpo, and V. Foster, 2008, Access, Affordability and Alternatives: Modern Infrastructure Services in Africa, Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic Study Background Paper 2, World Bank. Washington, DC.

Banerjee, S., Q. Wodon, and V. Foster, 2010, Dealing with Poverty and Inequality, in V. Foster and C. Briceno-Garmendia, editors, Africa’s Infrastructure: A Time for Transformation, Africa Development Forum, Agence Française de Développement and World Bank, Washington, DC.

Bardasi, E. and Q. Wodon, 2007, Poverty Reduction from Full Employment: A Time Use Approach, in C. M. Blackden and Q. Wodon, editors, Gender, Time Use and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, Washington, DC: The World Bank.

Bardasi, E. and Q. Wodon, 2008, Who Pays the Most for Water? Alternative Providers and Service Costs in Niger, Economics Bulletin 9(20): 1-10.

Bardasi, E. and Q. Wodon, 2010, Working Long Hours and Having No Choice: Time Poverty in Guinea, Feminist Economist 16(3): 45-78.

Barnes D. F., K. Openshaw, K. R. Smith, and R. van der Plas, 1994, What makes people cook with improved biomass stoves? A comparative international review of stove programs, Tech. Pap. 242, Energy Ser. World Bank, Washington, DC

Berg, C., M. Gaul, B. Korff, K. Raabe, J. Strittmatter, K. Tröger, and V. Tyumeneva, 2011, Tracing the Impacts of Rural Electrification in West Nile, Uganda: A Framework and Toolbox for Monitoring and Evaluation, Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, Berlin.

Blackden, C. Mark and Q. Wodon, 2006, Gender, Time Use, and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, Washington, DC: The World Bank.

Briceño-Garmendia, C., and M. Shkaratan, 2011, Power Tariffs: Caught between Cost Recovery and Affordability, Policy Research Working Paper No. 5904, Washington, DC: The World Bank.

Clarke, R. G., and S. J. Wallsten, 2003, Universal Service: Empirical Evidence on the Provision of Infrastructure Services to Rural and Poor Urban Consumers,” in P. Brook and T. Irwin, Infrastructure for Poor People: Public Policy for Private Provision, World Bank, Washington, DC.

Clements, B., H. S. Jung, and S. Gumpta, 2003, Real and Distributive Effects of Petroleum Price Liberalization: the Case of Indonesia, Working Paper WP/03/204, International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC.

Diallo, A., and Q. Wodon, 2007, Demographic Transition towards Smaller Household Sizes and Basic Infrastructure Needs in Developing Countries, Economics Bulletin, 2007, 15(11): 1-11.

Dinkelman, T., 2008, The Effects of Rural Electrification on Employment: New Evidence from South Africa, mimeo, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University.

Electricity Regulatory Authority, 2014, Quarterly Tariff Adjustment Methodology, Kampala: Electricity Regulatory Authority.

ESMAP (Energy Sector Management Assistance Program), 2004, Energy Policies and the Mexican Economy, Technical Paper 047, Washington, DC: The World Bank.

Estache, A., and Q. Wodon, 2014, Infrastructure and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Estache, A., V. Foster, and Q. Wodon, 2002, Accounting for Poverty in Infrastructure Reform: Learning from Latin America’s Experience, World Bank, WBI Development Studies, Washington, DC.

Ezor, Z., 2009, Power to the People: Rural Electrification in Uganda, School for International Studies, Uganda.

Fay, M., D. Leipziger, Q. Wodon, and T. Yepes, 2007, Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: The Role of Infrastructure, World Development, 33(8): 1267-84.

Foster, V. and M.C. Araujo, 2004, Does infrastructure reform work for the poor? A case study from Guatemala, Policy Research Working Paper 3185, World Bank, Washington DC.

Foster, V., and C. Briceno-Garmendia, editors, 2010, Africa’s Infrastructure: A Time for Transformation, Africa Development Forum, Agence Française de Développement and World Bank, Washington, DC.

Gore, C., 2009, Electricity and Privatisation in Uganda: The origins of the crisis and problems with the response, in D. McDonald, editor, Electric Capitalism: Recolonising Africa on the Power Grid, Cape Town: Human Sciences Research Council Press.

Government of the Republic of Uganda, 2012, Rural Electrification Strategy and Plan Covering the Period 2013-2022, Kampala: Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

Grogan, L. and A. Sadanand, 2008, Electrification and the Household, Working Paper, University of Guelph.

Hazal, G., and C. Tedgren, 2009, Establishing the Optimal Tariff in Rural Electricity Distribution Networks A Case Study in Uganda, Master of Science Thesis, School of Electrical Engineering, KTH.

Ilahi, N. and G. Franque, 2000, Public Infrastructure and Private Costs: Water Supply and Time Allocation of Women in Rural Pakistan, Economic Development and Cultural Change 49: 45-75.

International Monetary Fund, 2013, Case Studies on Energy Subsidy Reform: Lessons and Implications, International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC.

Kapika, J., and A. Eberhand, 2013, Power sector reform and regulation in Africa: Lessons from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Namibia and Ghana, Cape Town: Human Sciences Research Council Press.

Khandker, S. R., 1996, Education Achievements and School Efficiency in Rural Bangladesh, World Bank Discussion Paper No. 319. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Khandker, S. R., D. F. Barnes, and H. A. Samad, 2013, Welfare Impacts of Rural Electrification: A Panel Data Analysis from Vietnam, Economic Development and Cultural Change 61: 659–92.

Komives, K. D. Whittington, and X. Wu, 2003, “Infrastructure coverage and the poor: A global perspective,” in P. Brook and T. Irwin, Infrastructure for Poor People: Public Policy for Private Provision, World Bank, Washington, DC.

Komives, K., J. Halpern, V. Foster, Q. Wodon, and R. Abdullah, 2007, “Utility Subsidies as Social Transfers: An Empirical Evaluation of Targeting Performance,” Development Policy Review, 25(6): 659-679.

Komives, K., V. Foster, J. Halpern, and Q. Wodon, 2005, Water, Electricity, and the Poor: Who Benefits from Utility Subsidies?, World Bank, Directions in Development, Washington, DC.

Lauria, D. and O. Hopkins, 2004, Pro-Poor Subsidies for Water Connections: Cases from West Africa, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina.

Löfgren, H., R.L. Harris, S. Robinson, M. Thomas, and M. El-Said, 2002, A standard computable general equilibrium (CGE) model in GAMS, Microcomputers in Policy Research 5, Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Martins, J., 2005, The Impact Use of Energy Sources on the Quality of Life of Poor Communities, Social Indicators Research 72(3): 373–402.

Masud, J., D. Sharan, and N. B. Lohani, 2007, Energy for All: Addressing the Energy, Environment, and Poverty Nexus in Asia, Manila: Asian Development Bank.

Matovu J. M. and T. Evarist, 2009, Macroeconomic and Welfare Consequences of High Energy Prices, Economic Policy Research Center, Research Series No. 62, Kampala, Uganda.

Mawejje, J., and others, 2012, Uganda‘s Electricity Reforms and Institutional Restructuring, Economic Policy Research Centre Working Paper No. 89 (Kampala: Economic Policy Research Centre).

Mawejje, J., E. Munyambonera, and L. Bategeka, 2012, Uganda‘s Electricity Reforms and Institutional Restructuring, Economic Policy Research Centre Working Paper No. 89, Kampala: Economic Policy Research Centre.

Mawejje, J., E. Munyambonera, and L. Bategeka, 2013, Powering Ahead: The Reform of the Electricity Sector in Uganda, Energy and Environment Research 3(2): 126-38.

Muhoro, P. N., 2010, Off-Grid Electricity Access and its Impact on Micro-Enterprises: Evidence from Rural Uganda, PhD dissertation (Applied Physics), Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan

Mwaura, F. M., 2012, Adopting electricity prepayment billing system to reduce non-technical losses in Uganda: Lessons from Rwanda. Utilities Policy, 23, 72-79.

Peters, J., 2009, Evaluating Rural Electrification Projects: Methodological Approaches, Well-Being and Social Policy 5(2): 25 40.

Ranganathan, R., and V. Foster, 2012, Uganda‘s Infrastructure: A Continental Perspective, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 5963, Washington: World Bank.

Republic of Uganda, 2002, The Energy Policy for Uganda, Kampala: Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

Sendegeya, A., E. Lugujjo, I. P. Da Silva, L. Soder and M. Amelin, 2009, Application of Price Sensitivity Measurement Method to Assess the Acceptance of Electricity Tariffs: A Case Study in Uganda, IEEE AFRICON 2009, 23 - 25 September 2009, Nairobi, Kenya.

Srivastava, L. and I. H. Rehman, 2006, Energy for sustainable development in India: Linkages and strategic direction, Energy Policy, 34(5): 643–54.

Thurlow, J., 2004, A dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model for South Africa: Extending the static IFPRI model, Working Paper No. 1-2004, Pretoria, South Africa: Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies.

Uganda Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, 2012, Energy and Mineral Sector Performance Report, 2008–2011.

UMEME Ltd, 2014, Annual Report 2013: Investing In Service Delivery, Kampala, Uganda.

Whitley, S. and G. Tumushabe, 2014, Mapping Current Incentives and Investment in Uganda's Energy Sector: Lessons for Private Climate Finance, London: Overseas Development Institute.

Whittington, D., 1992, Possible Adverse Effects of Increasing Block Water Tariffs in Developing Countries. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 41(1): 75-87.

Whittington, D., X. Mu, and R. Roche, 1990, Calculating the Value of Time Spent Collecting Water: Some Estimates for Ukunda, Kenya, World Development 18 (2): 269–80.

Wodon, Q., M. I. Ajwad, and C. Siaens, 2003, Lifeline or Means Testing? Electric Utility Subsidies in Honduras, in P. Brook and T. Irwin, editors, Infrastructure for the Poor People: Public Policy for Private Provision, The World Bank, Washington, DC.

Wodon, Q., S. Banerjee, A. Diallo, and V. Foster, 2009, Is Low Coverage of Modern Infrastructure Services in African Cities Due to Lack of Demand or Lack of Supply?, Policy Research Working Paper No. 4881, World Bank, Washington, DC.

World Bank, 2008, The Welfare Impact of Rural Electrification: A Reassessment of the Costs and Benefits, Independent Evaluation Group, Washington, DC: The World Bank.

World Bank, 2014, Reducing Old Age and Economic Vulnerabilities - Why Uganda should Improve its Pension System, Uganda Economic Update, 4th edition, World Bank, Washington, DC.