Uganda’s shift to clean energy by 2030 is a pipe dream

By Getrude Mbaseege 

According to the Biomass Energy Strategy (BEST), energy poverty in Uganda is rampant affecting mainly the cooking sector. Only 15% of the energy used for cooking in the 2018/19 financial year qualified as clean energy.

SDG 7 envisions universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030.

It begs the question of how feasible that is in developing countries like Uganda particularly in regard to clean cooking. Despite different government and development partners’ interventions, majority of the population still relies heavily on woody biomass, particularly charcoal and firewood, as their primary energy source for cooking.

The National Development Plan 3 (NDP 3) notes that 2.09 million tonnes of charcoal were consumed in 2019 alone, contributing to the 6.5-billion-dollar biodegradable loss due to using wood fuel. This has seen a drastic decline in forest cover (about 72000 Ha annually) over the last decade which is projected to increase as the population grows further increasing demand for wood fuel.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) defines energy poverty as the absence of sufficient choice in accessing adequate, affordable, reliable, quality, safe, and environmentally friendly energy services to support economic and human development.

We need energy for lighting, heating and moving things from one place to another. Currently, Uganda’s energy mix is comprised of biomass-88%, electricity-2% and fossil fuels-10%.

According to the BEST, households consume the largest percentage of biomass accounting for over 70%, the bulk of which is through charcoal consumption.

Uganda experiences repetitive cycles were charcoal prices sky-rocket during scarcity making it expensive until supply stabilises and they slowly fall. High demand for wood fuel coupled with low levels of reforestation over time, resulted into biomass demand exceeding available stock and hence energy insecurity.

Late last year, an 85kg bag cost about 90000 -110,000 depending one’s location and availability of charcoal stock in that season. As the dominant energy source for cooking in the country, this trajectory is alarming and needs to be reversed before it is too late.

To reduce dependence on and consumption of biomass, the government has put efforts into increasing biomass energy efficiency through promoting clean cooking with less wood consumed and less smoke emitted.

The ongoing densification and expansion of the national electricity grid has increased access to electricity for more people increasing their options for cooking. Intensifying of rural electrification has also connected rural areas previously off the national grid to electricity reducing dependence on biomass.

Other off grid energy solutions such as bio-gas and solar are being promoted as well for institutions like schools. The available modern energy options for cooking in Uganda today include Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), electricity, solar and biogas.

Aside from solar energy’s contribution to the national grid, its technologies in the market are mainly for lighting, charging and other low energy consumption uses. Various development organisations and NGOs have played a pivotal role distributing Photo Voltaic appliances such as solar lamps at no cost or at subsidised prices which has helped light up many rural areas that are off-grid.

However, use of solar for cooking and other heavy industrial processes which consume a significant amount of power remains to be seen. As a modern energy source, few Ugandans can afford solely using LPG for cooking and often complement it with charcoal i.e. the Charcoal stove (sigiri) or three stone fire that uses firewood.

The cheapest set which consists of a 3kg gas cylinder costs about 150,000 and cannot suffice for the average family cooking needs. Aside from being associated with being unaffordable, LPG is new and still unpopular among the public being feared as a “dangerous” means of cooking for being highly flammable.

Similar to the LPG, cooking with electricity alone is only possible for a small percentage of the population due to the high electricity tariffs and cost of electrical cooking appliances. The 2018 World energy outlook noted that the electrification rate in Uganda was among the lowest (28%) in the Sub-Saharan Africa whose electrification average was at 42%.

A cooker that can adequately cater for household cooking requirements goes for about Shs 550,000 to Shs 800000. The UMEME electricity retail tariffs are among the highest in the region. Domestic tariffs which were paid by households in the third quarter of 2020 were at Shs 250/KWh for the first 15KWh and a Shs 500.9 increase on every unit more making it Shs 750.9/KWh!

The reality is that attaining reliable, affordable yet efficient and sustainable energy for cooking in Uganda is still a pipe dream. Efforts should be directed towards improving efficiency of traditional cooking options which are to remain the primary energy source for cooking for much longer than desired. One such example is the ongoing “Kyuusa enfumba yo” campaign under the Energizing Development (EnDev) project’s Improved Cook Stoves (ICS) initiative.

Heavily advertised across media, this clean cooking campaign has helped shed light on the dangers of the traditional charcoal stoves and promoted a safer & energy efficient charcoal stove which consumes less charcoal and emits less smoke.

The campaign also gives tips on how to safely use the stoves so as to protect one’s health. Public sensitisation and campaigns like the above on safety and use of other modern energy solutions will go a long way in boosting their adoption. The energy insecurity in Uganda is an urgent call to action for the government to protect the remaining forest cover and encourage planting of more trees.

The existing stock is being depleted much faster than it is being replaced both naturally and artificially. Forests should therefore not be de-gazetted but more actually gazetted and replanting policies enforced strictly.

Briquetting technology should be promoted and popularised by the government to produce briquettes as a cooking fuel. Briquettes made from other sources other than biomass and charcoal residue will help reduce dependence on biomass.

For example, those made from waste can contribute to the curbing the waste management problem within the urban areas while making cooking cheaper. Reducing electricity tariffs and subsidising prices of modern cooking and energy appliances will increase their affordability hence their adoptability. Price remains the biggest barrier to use of clean energy for cooking for Ugandans.

The government should consider investing in clean energy and supplying at a subsidised price. This will help regulate the market prices by providing competition with the foreign companies supplying clean energy for profit.

The government has adopted several policies and strategies aimed at promoting clean energy however, their enforcement is still lacking greatly. To attain the policy goals and targets requires the government’s deliberate and intentional implementation of the policy actions suggested.

This will help steer the public away from unsustainable biomass consumption and guide them towards adoption of clean energy and hence clean cooking. Availing modern energy solutions is not enough.

There is need to empower the population to embrace these solutions by boosting their affordability, sensitising the public on the benefits of clean cooking.

Similarly, solutions should be tailored to the social economic classes and backed by real-time data. Knowledge of the consequences to their health, environment and economic development will help draw cooperation.

A sustainable energy future for Uganda is possible but it is going take more than just availing alternatives.

The author is an advocate for clean energy