These households spread across 10 districts, were provided with electricity in partnership with the German Development Agency, GIZ.
The households that received electricity include 182 from Rwamagana District, 339 from Musanze, 273 from Rubavu, 419 from Nyaruguru, 142 from Nyamagabe, 200 from Kayonza, 163 from Bugesera, 483 from Muhanga, 413 from Ruhango, and 136 from Kamonyi District. Among these, 1,654 are headed by women.
Households that received electricity also included those in the model village of Kamamana, located in the Kaduha Cell, Munyaga Sector, in Rwamagana District.
Beatrice Muhimakazi, a resident of the village, said, 'I felt so happy when I was connected to electricity. That night, I thought about getting a television, and by morning I went to buy one. Before receiving electricity, we were isolated and sad, but today we are happy, we have light as we can use televisions and phones easily. We owe all of this to the president. We have progressed.'
Her neighbor, Béatrice Musabwamana, mentioned, 'Before we had electricity, we lived poorly, but after we got it, we were very happy because we saw many changes. We can listen to the radio and know the country's progress. We plan to use the electricity to run businesses like selling milk, among other things.'
Ayubusa Turikumana Olivier, the Project Manager at REG's EDCL branch, stated that the project aimed to increase the number of households with access to electricity, particularly focusing on low-income households.
Another aspect considered in this project was that these households were located in areas already covered by the electricity grid but had been left out due to their low economic capabilities.
'The uniqueness of this project is that we provided them with cash power and also helped with the installation of electricity in their homes for free. This is because these households couldn't afford the Frw 50,000 or 100,000 required to bring electricity into their homes, along with necessary electrical equipment such as lights. We did it for free to help them improve their livelihoods,' he added.
Regarding the households that did not yet receive electricity, the official mentioned that discussions are ongoing to ensure they are connected soon.
Dorothée Merkl, Project Coordinator and Energy Advisor at GIZ, said they are in talks with REG to secure additional funding aimed at increasing the number of households connected to electricity, especially for the underprivileged.
She stated, 'We are in discussions with REG to secure an additional 100,000 Euros, which will help us increase the number of households with electricity, bringing the total to at least 6,700.'
This low-income electricity project is valued at over 350,000 Euros (approximately Frw 585 million).
Currently, 85% of the population has access to electricity, with a goal to achieve 100% coverage within the next five years. This will be supported by an investment of over 1 billion dollars aimed at generating 1,000 megawatts of electricity. At present, Rwanda generates 406.4 megawatts of electricity.
IGIHE
