Electricity Regulatory Authority
Add a review FollowOverview
-
Founded Date January 1, 1900
-
Sectors Government
-
Posted Jobs 1
-
Viewed 7
Company Description
The Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) is an autonomous statutory body established in 2000 under the provisions of the Electricity Act of 1999 to oversee Uganda’s electricity supply industry. Operating under the policy guidance of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, the authority is headquartered at the New ERA House on Third Street in the Lugogo Industrial Area of Kampala. Its primary mandate focuses on regulating the generation, transmission, distribution, sale, export, and import of electrical energy across the country.
The operational focus of the agency centers on creating a fair, objective, and transparent market environment that balances utility investment returns with consumer protections. The body evaluates and issues essential operational licenses, enforces strict technical compliance, and establishes national electricity tariff structures through transparent public review processes. To bring its supervisory services closer to local communities and grid networks, the corporation operates three main regional offices located in the cities of Mbarara, Gulu, and Mbale.
To accommodate evolving economic demands and advance environmental sustainability, the regulator continuously rolls out modern structural guidelines and clean energy initiatives. The institution oversees the integration of isolated local grids into the national network, issues multi-year electrical installation permits, and implements standardized safety frameworks. Furthermore, the parastatal promotes socio-economic transformation by backing green energy transitions, coordinating national waterway safety audits, and championing targeted pilot campaigns designed to substitute traditional wood fuels with clean, electric cooking methods in public institutions.
The institutional governance, regulatory operations, and specific specialized utility departments managed by the authority include:
- The Five-Member Board: Serves as the supreme governing council appointed by the sector minister to steer high-level regulatory decisions and policy implementation.
- The Executive Secretariat: Comprises technical teams led by the Chief Executive Officer tasked with operationalizing board directives and handling day-to-day administrative affairs.
- Consumer and Public Affairs Department: Manages an active public contact center and a dedicated consumer complaints unit to investigate unresolved disputes between end-users and power distributors.
- Installation Permits Committee: Reviews and issues official authorizations to qualified technicians and vocational electrical engineers under updated industry standards.
- Renewable Energy Feed-In-Tariff: Administers structured pricing incentives to diversify the national generation mix by encouraging private investments into solar, hydro, and biomass grids.