Electricity in the market
Umeme is Uganda’s main privately owned electricity distribution company. They buy power in bulk from the Uganda Electrical Company (which is state owned) and sell it to customers across the country . The distribution of electrical power was privatised during major liberation reforms in the country, 20 years ago. A vendor in Owino told me that he pays a flat rate for electricity to his landlord every month and I thought to find out more about how this system. From what I have seen in Kampala (at least in households) electrical meters measure the amount of electricity used per individual plots and then households pay Umeme according to their energy usage. if the plot is divided into a few different households (ie. an apartment block, then the meter reading is reflects the different properties). In short, each individual household pays for the units of energy the use. This is different from what I understood about vendors paying for electricity in the market; vendors do not pay for what they use, but fixed prices set by their landlords.
I went to Umeme to ask about how power is distributed to Owino and this is a summary of my findings:
Umeme set up one main package meter for the entire market.
They receive a monthly fee from this package (Owino is one of their top 20 clients in Kampala!)
The power distributor communicates directly with landlords in Owino (these are a few different groups, some trade associations, others property owners in the market in the market)
The manner in which power is distributed within the market is up to the market management to control. ie. landlords can set whatever prices of electricity they want to, so long as they meet the overall package cost for umeme at the end of the month.
Different managers regulate and manage payment collection but umeme is only in contact with the landlords themselves
If there is need for a new power connection (ie. new stall set up) then the landlords (through their managers) are responsible for setting this up with their own electricians. Umeme comes to inspect these connections before providing any additional power.
