NICHOLAS KIIZA: Unlocking Uganda’s Energy Future: Transmission as the Next Frontier

Uganda’s energy sector is at a pivotal juncture. For decades, the country’s policy discourse has been dominated by generation—building dams, expanding renewable capacity, and ensuring sufficient megawatts to meet rising demand. 

Yet, as the Africa Energy Forum (AEF) 2026 in Cape Town recently underscored, the conversation is shifting. Transmission, long the neglected sibling of generation, is emerging as the decisive frontier for Africa’s energy transition. 

Without robust transmission networks, generation capacity risks becoming stranded, industrialisation stalls, and regional power trading remains aspirational rather than real.

Uganda’s delegation to AEF, led by Hon Dr Monica Musenero Masanza, Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, seized the moment to position the country as a continental trailblazer. 

The launch of the National Energy Compact under the Mission 300 initiative signalled the government’s intent to accelerate universal access. 

But the real headline was transmission: Uganda’s showcase of the Amari project, the continent’s first Independent Transmission Project (ITP) to reach financial close.

Transmission: The Missing Link

Across Africa, transmission bottlenecks are increasingly constraining growth. Investment in generation has surged, often backed by concessional finance and donor support. 

Uganda itself has added significant hydropower capacity in recent years, notably through the Isimba and Karuma dams. 

Yet the ability to evacuate this power to consumers and industries remains limited. Grid instability, inadequate reach, and outdated infrastructure undermine reliability and competitiveness.

Transmission is not merely a technical issue; it is an economic one. Without modern grids, Uganda cannot fully leverage its generation assets to power industrial parks, support agro-processing, or participate meaningfully in the East African Power Pool. 

Inadequate transmission translates into lost productivity, higher costs, and diminished investor confidence.

Independent Transmission Projects: A New Model

Historically, Uganda’s transmission infrastructure has been financed and developed by government, primarily through the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL). 

But fiscal constraints are acute. Competing priorities—from healthcare to education to debt servicing—limit the state’s ability to fund grid expansion at the required pace.

Enter Independent Transmission Projects. Modeled loosely on Independent Power Producers (IPPs), ITPs allow private capital to finance, build, and operate transmission assets under regulated frameworks. 

The Amari project, developed by Gridworks, is the first of its kind in Africa to achieve financial close. Its significance lies not only in bricks and mortar but in demonstrating that transmission can be bankable.

Uganda’s regulatory institutions, notably the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA), have played a crucial role. By crafting a framework that balances risk allocation, tariff certainty, and investor protection, they have created conditions for private capital to flow. 

The collaboration between ERA, UETCL, and Gridworks reflects a pragmatic recognition: Uganda cannot afford to rely solely on public resources to modernise its grid.

Uganda’s Advantage

The economic implications are profound. Reliable transmission unlocks industrial growth by ensuring factories have steady power. It enables regional trade, allowing Uganda to export surplus electricity to neighbours while importing when needed. It reduces system losses, improving efficiency and lowering costs for consumers.

For Uganda, where electricity access remains below 60%, transmission expansion is central to inclusive development. Rural electrification, often hampered by the high cost of extending grids, becomes more feasible when private capital is mobilised. 

Moreover, modern transmission networks are essential for integrating renewable energy, particularly solar and wind, which require flexible grids to balance intermittency.

Uganda is well positioned to lead. The country has a track record of private sector participation in generation, with IPPs contributing significantly to installed capacity. 

This experience has built confidence among investors and regulators alike. The Amari project now extends that logic to transmission.

Financial close under a bankable structure sends a powerful signal: Uganda can attract long-term private capital into grid infrastructure. This is not a trivial achievement. 

Across Africa, transmission has been viewed as too risky, too complex, or too politically sensitive for private investors. Uganda’s success challenges that orthodoxy.

The Role of Finance

Finance is the lifeblood of infrastructure. At Stanbic Bank Uganda, our purpose— “Uganda is our home, we drive her growth”—guides our commitment to strategic sectors. 

As part of Standard Bank Group, a lead sponsor of AEF 2026, we see energy as central to Uganda’s economic transformation. Partnering with investors, utilities, and regulators, we aim to mobilise capital that bridges infrastructure gaps.

Projects like Amari demonstrate the catalytic role of finance. By structuring deals that are bankable, transparent, and aligned with regulatory frameworks, financiers can unlock global pools of capital. 

Uganda’s challenge is not the absence of money; it is the ability to present credible projects that meet investor expectations. Amari shows this is possible.

Looking Ahead

Transmission is no longer the forgotten frontier. For Uganda, it is the next chapter in the energy story. Success will require scaling beyond pilot projects, replicating the Amari model, and embedding private participation as a norm rather than an exception.

The stakes are high. Without modern transmission, Uganda risks underutilising its generation assets, constraining industrialisation, and missing opportunities in regional trade. 

With it, the country can power factories, electrify homes, and position itself as a hub in East Africa’s energy landscape. Uganda’s energy future will not be unlocked by generation alone. 

Transmission is the bridge between potential and prosperity. The Amari project is proof that Uganda can build that bridge—and in doing so, chart a path for the continent.

The author is Executive Vice President – Energy & Infrastructure at Stanbic Bank Uganda

 

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