Report of the First Ugandan National Energy Policy Seminar

by Joan Kyokutamba

Executive Summary

The African Energy Policy Research Network, AFREPREN/FWD, brings together 97 African energy researchers and policy makers from Africa who have a long-term interest in energy research. AFPREPREN supports appropriate policy research in the field of energy in East, Central and Southern Africa. They sponsor professionals to carry out research on important themes with an objective of strengthening local research capacity and to harness planning and policy making in the particular countries. The network is supported by the Swedish International Development Association (SIDA).

In order for the researchers to share their findings with policy makers and also garner for more focused identification of research strategies, national policy seminars were proposed. They are to take place in the participating countries at least once a year during the research period 2000-2002.

The first national seminar was based on the findings of the research carried out by Eng. John mugyenzi as principal researcher and was assisted by Dr. V. B. A kasangaki and Ms. Joan Kyokutamba. The research, “Restructuring the Ebergy Sector in Uganda; The Privatisation Question.” Has also been published by Zed Books Ltd., London & New York. With others carried out elsewhere in Africa in the book “Reforming the Power Sector in Africa” (1999) Edited by Dr. M. R. Bhagavan. The government of Uganda’s Power sector strategy together with the on going process of restructuring and privatizing the power sector provided a good setting for discussion.

The principal researcher indicated the evolution of reform in the power sector in Uganda, some of which were already implemented like corporatization and commercialization. Others like unbundling, competition and out right privatization were still being planned.  Elsewhere, management contracts could be one of the many options considered as a method of reform. During the process, certain changes in ownership and management are inevitable and major structural reforms have to be experienced that could bring about conditions of unbundling, IPP’s, IPD’s and wholesale distributors. Reformed systems demand new legal and regulatory framework and a regulator in place.

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