Umeme invested only $8m of $106m planned in final yearBy Prisca WanyenyaA report by Parliament has blamed the constant power outages Ugandans are currently experiencing on Umeme’s failure to invest in the network infrastructure in the three years leading to the end of their contract, and the aging 30-year-old infrastructure that Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) inherited.This was revealed by Dan Kimosho, Chairperson, Parliament’s Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, while presenting the report on the Inquiry into Persistent Power Supply Outages in the Country, during the 5th November 2026 plenary sitting where he indicated that the distribution network was handed over to UEDCL on 1st April 2025 with a significant backlog of required investment.“By the time Umeme left, it had invested less, for three years and this left UEDCL with no materials. So, the committee noted that UEDCL cleared 34,206Kms of line corridors and replaced 1,110 distribution transformers in the year to July 2026. Availability of transformer materials in the store is reported to have increased from 44% to 50%. However, vegetation contact remains the most common single cause of faults indicating the need for sustained preventive maintenance. The committee further noted that these maintenance activities should translate into fewer recurring faults and transfer restoration of supply,” Kimosho said.Documents before Parliament indicate that in 2020, Umeme had planned to invest US$165 million, but the actual approved investment was US$175 million, in 2021, the proposed investment by Umeme was US$134 million, but the company instead invested US$34 million.Additionally, whereas Umeme had informed Government of its plan to invest US$127 million in 2022, the company instead invested only US$30 million, while in 2023, Umeme is said to have proposed to invest US$103 million but instead, only US$23 million was invested and in 2024, Umeme had proposed to invest US$106 million, yet only US$8 million was invested.UEDCL Also Under-InvestedHowever, the low investment isn’t only blamed on Umeme, even Government itself, despite taking over the mandate of electricity distribution, UEDCL in 2025 had planned to invest US$115 million but the company only invested US$1.5 million yet Uganda’s electricity network operates on an investment capacity of US$70 million annually.“UEDCL now has an investment plan of US$286 million, which is ongoing. And what this explains, is that the three years of Umeme investing less than half of the planned investment left the integrity of the infrastructure at a high risk. But later on, even when UEDCL came in, one year and four months down the road, they have only invested US$1.4 million in infrastructure that was absorbing US$70 million per year on average and that would explain to you the breaking down of the infrastructure,” Kimosho said.The Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) reported approving investments totaling US$146.48 million for UEDCL since takeover. However, only US$1.55 million had been completed and verified for 2025, while US$76.35 million of the 2025 programme remained work in progress.According to UEDCL, the company has proposed a three-year investment response of about US$271 million, comprising of US$82 million approved under 2025, US$54.5 million approved for 2026 and US$134.4 million submitted for 2027 which funds are aimed at overloaded assets, ageing infrastructure, poor voltage, long radial feeders and limited network visibility.Planned measures include new and upgraded substations at Mutundwe, Kawanda, Nkonge, Buloba, Kireka, Njeru, Jinja Industrial and Busunju; integration of the new UETCL substations at Maya, Namungona, Kasana, Mukono and Entebbe North; the Kampala East ring capacity and N-1 security project; transformer injections; line refurbishment; replacement of aged switchgear, protection relays and batteries; and a US$82 million asset renewal plan for 2026-2030.Parliament Skeptical of Recovery PlanParliament’s Committee on Environment and Natural Resources however expressed skepticism about this plan noting that while appropriate in scope, the proposal faces five material risks including; the scale of investment remains far below the estimated need.The report read in part, “Reported network investment of US$171.5 million over 2021-2026 represents about 13 per cent of the estimated requirement of US$1.275 billion. Second, execution has been weak, with only US$1.55 million of 2025 network investment completed and verified, while figures for the 2025 programme differ between UEDCL and ERA and require reconciliation.”Kimosho also cast doubts on this proposal arguing that financing remains uncertain because investment depends on tariff revenue and borrowing while Government arrears to UEDCL exceeded UGX269Bn as at 30th September 2026, while the fourth risk was that many distribution benefits depend on timely completion of UETCL transmission works, meaning upstream delays continue to affect consumers at distribution level.The other risk cited in the report was the procurement lead times, the capacity limitations of some local suppliers, delayed supplier payments and uncertainty over sector restructuring threaten the availability of transformers and other materials needed to deliver the programme.The Committee has recommended to have a value-for-money audit conducted to reconcile Umeme’s proposed, approved, deferred, disallowed and completed investments with contracts, invoices, physical assets, records and the condition of the assets handed over.This was after the Committee learnt that in the final years of the concession, the regulator limited approved investment partly to reduce the buyout amount payable to Umeme, even as electricity demand expanded.“Reported actual network investment fell below the cited projections in the final years of the concession. The Committee is not satisfied that approved reported investment figures, by themselves, prove that all approved or works were fully undertaken, commissioned and maintained,” Kimosho said.The post Power Blackouts: Umeme Starved the Grid Before Exit, Left UEDCL With Crumbling Network – Report appeared first on Business Focus.