Plug-in electric cars in the United States consume more electricity than all of Uganda in 2023!

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Light-duty vehicles (LDV) in the United States consumed approximately 7,596 gigawatt-hours of electricity in 2023, nearly five times the consumption in 2018 according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Monthly electrical energy a report. The report also adds that U.S. sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have increased in recent years, accounting for 16% of total light duty vehicle (LDV) sales in 2023. Cumulative sales of plug-in electric vehicles have reached nearly 5 million in the U.S. American.

As electric vehicle sales continue to grow, this figure of 7,596 gigawatt hours consumed by the fleet of nearly 5 million electric vehicles in the USA got me thinking. What’s a great way to visualize this amount of energy or make it more relatable? Well, I looked up the total electricity generated in some countries in Africa and Uganda was one of the closest countries I found. In 2023, a total of 6,032.3 GWh was generated by all grid-connected generating stations according to the Uganda Electricity Regulatory Authority. The authority says that in 2023, most of the energy was generated from hydroelectric power plants, constituting 93.4% of the total energy, while the technologies that contributed least to the total energy mix were solar and thermal energy, at 1.6% and 1.1%, respectively. So, Uganda’s electricity generation mix consists of about 95% renewable energy sources. Another way to look at it is that a fleet of over 4 million all-electric vehicles could be charged entirely from renewable energy sources the size of Uganda’s current electricity generation mix.

On the other hand, access to electricity remains low in Uganda. Uganda’s population is about 48 million people. However, access to electricity is only about 45% according to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency. Uganda urgently needs to increase access to electricity for its citizens. If we look at it simplistically, assuming that the consumption patterns of the remaining 55% of the population would be the same as the 45% who currently have access, Uganda would need to at least double its electricity generation capacity, barring any future demand from any potential heavy industry. Or manufacturing plans that would be about 13,000 gigawatt hours. This would be the general estimate excluding the growth in electricity consumption from Uganda’s electric vehicle fleet as it grows over time. Uganda will need to rapidly increase electricity generation capacity from the current installed capacity of 1,347 MW.

There is now some activity in the Ugandan electric mobility sector, especially in the electric motorcycle sector led by the likes of GOGO. In total, there are more than 2.3 million vehicles in Uganda. As the transition to electric mobility accelerates around the world, it would be great to see a significant portion of this fleet convert to electric mobility. Of course, increasing access to electricity in general, as well as access to clean cooking, should be key priorities. It doesn’t have to be that way – Uganda can work to increase access to electricity while increasing the penetration of electric vehicles.

I found it interesting to quantify the amount of electricity electric cars now consume in the USA by relating it to something closer to home, namely Uganda’s national electricity consumption figures. What about you?

Electricity generated in Uganda in 2023 in addition to the electricity generation mix. Charts issued by Uganda Electricity Regulatory Authority.