The factors influencing the uptake of electricity in rural areas in Uganda: a case study of Mityana District

Abstract

Uganda is one of the small countries in the world but with the great number of rural areas and power has heavily contributed to both domestic and foreign earnings in the country. This study was conducted in Mityana district, Uganda. The aimed was to find out the factors associated with uptake of electricity in rural areas of Uganda using Mityana as a case study. The study specifically evaluated influence of household size, education attainment, wealth index, health status of individuals and agricultural level on the uptake of electricity. The study adopted a cross sectional correlation survey design to evaluate the study objectives and used a sample of 114 respondents determined using Cochran’s formula of sample size determination. The study indicated that 47.6% of the respondents were secondary levers followed by 22.9% who had acquired tertiary education whereas only 2.9% had acquired other qualifications like certificate in nursing and there is a significant relationship between education level of a person and uptake of electricity (p-value<0.05). The results from the study indicated that 48.6% of the respondents ranked the health service condition as good and 29.5% of the respondents showed that the health service condition is better whereas only 21.9% indicated it to be worse on their side. There is a significant relationship between health status of a person and uptake of electricity (p-value<0.05). The study findings indicated that 40% of the respondents were rich and 21.9% richer whereas only 17.1% of the respondents were poorer. There is a significant relationship between wealth index of a person and uptake of electricity with wealthier people more likely to uptake the use of electricity than poor people (p-value<0.05). The study results indicated that 40% of the respondents had a medium level of agricultural output and 28.6% of respondents had high level of output whereas only 31.4% of respondents had low agricultural output in Mityana district. There is a significant relationship between level of agricultural output of a person and uptake of electricity (p-value<0.05). The study concluded that education level of an individual, health status, wealth index and level of agricultural output significantly influences electricity uptake while employment status of an individual does not. The study recommended that Massive sensitization should be done among uneducated people so as they understand the benefits of uptake of electricity in their houses.