Butebo’s wired-but-unconnected school gets power in Shs240m grid upgrade

Petete Primary School had finished its internal electrical wiring, but still had no connection to Uganda’s national grid. That gap has now been closed through an electricity network extension in Butebo District, part of an investment of more than Shs240 million by the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited, or UEDCL, according to The Independent Uganda (direct).

The projects, commissioned over the weekend, address two local needs: getting electricity to institutions and households in Petete, and providing more capacity for emerging businesses in Kabarekere Village. The spending covers distribution infrastructure—the network that carries electricity to customers. It is intended to improve supply reliability while supporting the district’s growing commercial and industrial activity, rather than leaving new users dependent on inadequate connections.

A school connection reaches beyond the classroom

The Petete extension does more than bring the school onto the grid. It also connects Petete Church, nearby households and the offices of Petete Town Council. UEDCL installed a new transformer, equipment that adjusts voltage for electricity distribution, to handle the extra demand from those connections. For the school, the project resolves a specific obstacle: its own wiring was ready, but the external network connection was still missing.

The second project tackles a different bottleneck at a mini-industrial park being built in Kabarekere Village, near St. Paul High School. The site had depended on a 25-kilovolt-ampere, or kVA, single-phase transformer about 600 metres away. That equipment was considered insufficient for the park’s projected demand of 48 kilowatts, or kW. Both measures describe electrical capacity or demand, but they are not directly interchangeable.

UEDCL has installed a 100kVA transformer at the developing park to provide the capacity needed for industrial and agro-processing activity—the processing of agricultural produce. Managing Director Eng. Joselynne Rwabwogo linked the upgrade to expanding commerce and the additional electricity demand the company expects to follow. The investment therefore addresses not only existing service needs, but also the requirements of a site that is still under construction.

“With growing commercial activity and agro-processing in the area, we anticipate increased electricity demand,” UEDCL Managing Director Eng. Joselynne Rwabwogo said.

Reliability remains the test

The commissioning took place during a thanksgiving ceremony in Petete, officiated by Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja in honour of Energy Minister Dr. Monica Musenero. The local projects come as UEDCL works to reinforce its distribution network and respond to concerns about outages and the quality of service customers receive.

Rwabwogo acknowledged the difficulties caused by power interruptions. She said UEDCL was pursuing both immediate and longer-term infrastructure work to ease network constraints and make room for rising demand. Alongside those upgrades, the company has begun a nationwide stakeholder engagement programme to work with local leaders, hear customer concerns and collect feedback to guide service improvements.

The next test in Butebo is whether the added infrastructure delivers more dependable electricity for the newly connected users and sufficient capacity for the industrial park as it develops. The expected gains extend from homes and public institutions to businesses processing agricultural produce. For local authorities seeking investment and broader economic activity, reliable distribution remains central to turning those ambitions into practical opportunities.