By: Ecofin Agency

Uganda has added new solar power to its national grid after AMEA Power energized the 24 MWp Ituka plant in the country’s northwest, with the project set to strengthen electricity supply in the recently connected West Nile region.

The Emirati renewable energy company announced on August 11 that the plant, built in Madi Okollo District, had started feeding electricity into the national grid ahead of commercial operations.

The project’s 25 MVA substation, which operates at 132/33 kV, has also been energized. Ituka will have a grid injection capacity of 20 MWac, with its electricity purchased by Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) under a power purchase agreement.

The project comes two years after the West Nile region was connected to Uganda’s national electricity grid through the 132 kV Kole-Gulu-Nebbi-Arua transmission line in August 2024. Before the interconnection, the region relied heavily on local generation and faced supply shortages and recurrent power outages.

New Capacity for a Recently Connected Region

At the national level, Uganda had about 2,100 MW of installed electricity capacity at the end of 2025, according to the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA), compared with peak demand of about 1,345 MW.

Hydropower continues to dominate the country’s generation capacity, while solar accounts for only a limited share of the power mix.

Ituka therefore adds generation capacity in a region that only recently gained access to the national grid. The project also comes as Uganda expands solar generation, which raises the broader challenge of integrating additional renewable capacity into an electricity system that remains under development.