A new global energy report warns that 655 million people worldwide still lack electricity, with Sub-Saharan Africa remaining the region most affected. For Uganda, the findings highlight the urgent need to make electricity more affordable, expand rural electrification, and accelerate the adoption of clean cooking solutions. The report says stronger investment in renewable energy, innovative financing, and targeted government support will be critical if Uganda and other African countries are to achieve universal access to sustainable energy by 2030.
Despite significant investments in electricity generation over the past decade, Uganda still faces major challenges in extending affordable and reliable electricity to millions of households, reflecting a wider crisis across Sub-Saharan Africa highlighted in a new global energy report. The latest Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, which monitors global progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 7 on affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, estimates that 655 million people worldwide still live without electricity.
Nearly two billion people continue to rely on firewood, charcoal, kerosene, and other polluting fuels for cooking, exposing them to serious health risks. The report notes that Sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicentre of the global energy access challenge. More than 560 million people in the region still lack electricity, while about 970 million do not have access to clean cooking technologies.
For Uganda, where access to electricity has expanded considerably over the years through grid expansion and off-grid solar programmes, the report highlights the need to move beyond increasing generation capacity to ensuring households can actually afford to connect and use electricity. Although Uganda has invested heavily in large hydropower projects such as Karuma and Isimba and continues expanding the national grid, affordability remains a major barrier for many families, especially in rural areas. Connection fees, household wiring costs, and the price of electrical appliances continue to keep electricity beyond the reach of many low-income households.
The report warns that electricity infrastructure alone is not enough. “Affordability remains a major obstacle to expanding electricity access,” the report says, noting that many households cannot afford connection charges or basic energy services even where electricity networks already exist. The findings come at a time when Uganda is implementing programmes aimed at increasing electricity access while promoting clean cooking technologies to reduce dependence on biomass fuels. Firewood and charcoal remain the dominant cooking fuels for the majority of Ugandan households, contributing to deforestation, indoor air pollution, and respiratory illnesses.
According to the report, clean cooking remains the world’s largest energy access challenge, with about two billion people still lacking access. Unless governments accelerate investment, an estimated 1.8 billion people could still depend on polluting cooking fuels by 2030. Household air pollution caused by these fuels contributes to approximately three million premature deaths globally every year.
The report also points to renewable energy as one of the most promising solutions for countries such as Uganda. Distributed renewable energy systems, including off-grid solar home systems and mini-grids, are proving to be among the fastest and most cost-effective ways of extending electricity to remote communities that remain beyond the reach of national grids.
Globally, renewable energy now accounts for more than 30 percent of electricity generation, while renewable energy capacity reached a record 544 watts per person in 2024. However, large disparities remain. Low-income countries have an average renewable energy generation capacity of just 33.6 watts per person compared to more than 1,200 watts per person in high-income countries. The report further notes that international financing for clean energy remains inadequate.
Public financial flows to developing countries rose only marginally to US$24.6 billion in 2024, while funding directed to the world’s least developed countries declined by 11 percent to US$3.7 billion. This financing gap could pose additional challenges for countries like Uganda that rely on external support to expand electricity infrastructure, promote renewable energy, and accelerate access to clean cooking technologies.
The report concludes that achieving universal access to electricity by 2030 will require the pace of electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa to triple. It also calls for stronger political commitment, better-targeted subsidies, innovative financing models, and greater investment in renewable energy to ensure vulnerable communities are not left behind.
Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), said countries with stronger renewable energy systems have become more resilient to global energy shocks. “Accelerating the deployment of cost-competitive domestic renewables must now be central to strengthening both energy security and economic resilience, while pursuing SDG 7,” he said.
For Uganda, where electricity demand is expected to grow rapidly alongside industrialisation and population growth, the report serves as a reminder that expanding access is not simply about building more power plants. It will also require making electricity affordable, promoting clean cooking alternatives, and investing in decentralised renewable energy solutions that can reach underserved rural communities. The report will be presented to decision-makers at a special launch event on 8 July 2026, following the in-depth review of SDG 7 at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York, which oversees progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
