REA was established as a semi-autonomous Agency by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development through Statutory Instrument 2001 no. 75, to operationalise Government's rural electrification function under a public-private partnership.

 

It functions as the secretariat of the Rural Electrification Board (REB) which carries out the Minister's rural electrification responsibilities, as defined in the Electricity Act of 1999.

 

The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is mandated to facilitate the Government's goal of achieving a rural electrification rate of at-least 22% by the year 2022 from 1% at the beginning of the decade as indicated in REA's srategy and plan (2013-2022).

 

Function of REA

In the case of transformation, REA aims to come in the form of providing electricity to rural communities. In order to help in this endevour, REA developed a Rural Electrification Master Plan to guide in how projects are designed and sequenced to provide appropriate energy services. This Master Plan prioritises projects on the basis of their value in financing the economy (economic growth centres), social well being, education, health, water supply and support to local administration (administration headquarters).

 

As the Secretariat of the Rural Electrification Board, REA is charged with the following key responsibilities:

 

• Undertake basic planning and preparation of projects in line with the Indicative Rural Electrification Master Plan (IREMP) and as determined by the Rural Electrification Board as eligible for support.
•  Implement Government’s priority rural electrification projects for public funding as determined by the Board.
• Generate and provide information relating to investment opportunities, costs and benefits of rural electrification and available technical and financial support facilities to all stakeholders.
• Recommend to the Rural Electrification Board the most efficient use of the Rural Electrification Fund (REF) for the promotion of the Rural Electrification Programme as set out from time to time in the Government policy.
• Process applications for financial support from the REF.
• Build and maintain a national database on rural electrification projects in Uganda. 
• Prepare for the Board an annual status report on the Rural Electrification Programme indicating progress, challenges and obstacles, and identifying options for mitigating the obstacles.
• Carry out any other functions as the Board may, after consultation with the Minister, direct.