Gridworks to Deliver Mbale-Bulambuli-Kween Transmission Project in Uganda

Gridworks, a subsidiary of British International Investment, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, has signed a Joint Development Agreement with the Government of Uganda to deliver the Mbale-Bulambuli-Kween transmission line in eastern Uganda and evacuate up to 250 MW of renewable power in the country.

Gridworks will develop the transmission line as a privately financed Independent Power Transmission (IPT) project, which is a second IPT developed by the company in Uganda. It will support Uganda in meeting its climate targets, as well as the country’s economic development, industrialization, and energy access goals.

The infrastructure includes about 80 km of high-voltage transmission lines and two new substations allowing the evacuation of up to 250 MW of renewable generation in the Mount Elgon area onto the national grid. This includes up to 100 MW from existing and planned hydropower plants and 150 MW of power from a new solar park near Bulambuli.

Expected impact:

• Industrial growth: The project will deliver reliable power to the industries located in the Mbale region including a key industrial park.
• Climate benefits: The project will unlock at least 15 hydro-power plants with around 100 MW of capacity, the development of which has been halted pending the commissioning of the line. It will also facilitate the planned 150 MW solar park project to be developed by Masdar.
• Energy access: The project will improve power supply in Bulambuli, Kween and the wider Mount Elgon region. According to the World Bank, only 47% of Uganda’s population currently has access to electricity.
• Market shaping: This project sets a precedent for more much-needed private investment in the electricity sector.
• Loss reduction: The new infrastructure will reduce evacuation losses for existing hydropower plants.
• Support for Uganda’s public finances: Without Gridworks’ private sector investment structure, the Government of Uganda would have had to borrow to finance the transmission line.

Gridworks is developing a series of projects to bring clean, affordable and reliable power to Africa’s people and its businesses. These include:

• Amari Power Transmission: Amari is an independent transmission project in Uganda that will upgrade four key substations on the grid.
• Chimuara-Nacala Transmission Project: Aimed at strengthening and increasing the reliability of the transmission infrastructure connecting central and northern regions of Mozambique.
• Anzana Electric Group: An African utility that develops, invests & operates distributed renewable power generation and grid distribution projects bringing reliable, low-cost power to rural communities across southern and eastern Africa.
• Moyi Power: A program to build greenfield, solar-powered utilities providing electricity in three isolated cities in northern DRC.