Utilities of the Future: How Integrated Energy Accelerates Global Access

Learnings from the Utilities 2.0 Uganda Pilot

By 2030, centralized utilities in sub-Saharan Africa will need to connect 531 million people to achieve universal access. Traditional grid expansion has struggled in underserved communities due to factors such as low demand in newly electrified areas, high connection costs, and distribution losses.

Evolving the traditional utility model is critical to delivering power for all.

Utilities 2.0 is a new model of radical collaboration that shows how integrated electrification can overcome utility challenges with greater speed, scale, and cost-efficiency. It combines the scale and financial strength of centralized utilities with the customer-driven innovation of decentralized solar technologies to #EndEnergyPovertyFaster.

The results speak for themselves: Utilities 2.0 reached electrification milestones at least 3.5X faster, and achieved comparable productive energy consumption 6X sooner than traditional grid expansion—while significantly reducing distribution losses and connection costs.

This integrated energy model is a win-win-win: mini-grid developers benefit from high-demand sites, and an expanded addressable market, utilities gain grid-ready customers, and households and businesses access reliable power and revenue-generating opportunities.

Check out the Fact Sheet to explore how this multi-award–winning initiative, recognized by the Reuters Global Energy Transition Award and Ashden Award, transforms the electricity sector.