Net metering in Uganda: what to confirm before a factory solar proposal

Uganda's Electricity Regulatory Authority publishes the Electricity (Net Metering) Regulations, 2024. That establishes a regulatory document to consult; it does not establish that a particular factory has an approved connection or that an installer's savings assumptions match its terms.

Keep dated consultation material separate from your agreement

GET.transform, which supported the guideline work, records an ERA stakeholder workshop on 21 August 2025. It describes draft guidelines covering systems up to 500 kW, smart metering and energy credits rather than cash payments. This is evidence of that consultation, not confirmation that every draft term is the final operating rule today.

Ask ERA and the relevant distributor for the current guideline version and application documents. Record the document date, capacity basis and terms they confirm for your connection. Avoid treating an older workshop summary as an approval.

Five answers to obtain in writing

1. Eligibility: which system size and customer category can use this route, and how is capacity measured?
2. Export permission: what agreement, technical study and protection checks are required before parallel operation?
3. Credit calculation: how are imports, exports, deductions, carry-forward and expiry calculated on the bill?
4. Metering and cost: who supplies the meter, who pays for connection work, and which charges continue?
5. Commissioning: who witnesses the tests and issues permission to operate?

Check the proposal before depending on export savings

Request a self-consumption case alongside any export case. The model should show the site's operating hours, shutdowns, daytime demand and any proposed load growth. Mark unconfirmed export terms as assumptions and show how the result changes if those assumptions change.

For a site with standby generation, the single-line diagram also needs a clear operating sequence for grid loss and restoration. Ask the responsible engineer to define the interfaces, protection and testing responsibilities. A remote document review cannot replace site verification or a local approval.

Bring a defined package for review

Start with the proposal, bills, load records, single-line diagram and correspondence from the distributor. We can review the agreed documents and return a referenced question list for your local team. See solar design review for East Africa and Uganda MEP consultancy support.

Sources: ERA: Electricity (Net Metering) Regulations, 2024; GET.transform: first-hand report of the August 2025 guideline consultation. Checked 1 November 2026. Confirm the latest issued guidelines and project terms with ERA and the distributor.