WATCH OUT FOR UETCL

Almost 40 years ago this country was in shambles. One did not know where to start to get it back on its feet. Insecurity was rife, inflation had run rampant and government did not have two coins to rub against themselves.

One of the major deficiencies was power availability. Owen Falls dam  -- now Nalubale dam,  was generating only 60 of its 150 MW capacity. Power was intermittent in the best of times but mostly not available altogether.

When we think of the power sector we think of generation and last mile distribution.

But in the last 20 months the transmission component, which gets power from the generators to the distributors – Umeme, in our case, is beginning to come alive, holds a lot of potential and a major piece of the puzzle of Uganda’s revival may finally be in place....

The most dramatic developments during this period was that West Nile is now on the national grid – for the first time since Independence and so is Kabale, which will be switched on before the year end.

But also as dramatic is the linking of Gulu to Agago, which will finally see power evacuated from Achwa power dam, where government has been paying $2.5m (sh9b) monthly for power that is not consumed.

There was also the long overdue connection of 600 MW Karuma dam to the grid which happened in the second half of this year.

All these and many more projects were stalled often due to bureaucratic red tape, that it took a new set of eyes in Joshua Karamagi, who became CEO in March last year, to unlock the backlog.

“This was a team effort but when you focus on delivering, this road blocks become mere distractions and it is easier to bring all the relevant people around the table to sign off and get the project going,” Karamagi said on the sidelines of an end of year media party last week.

While these are critical I am particularly excited at UETCL’s efforts to participate fully in the East Africa Power Pool (EAPP) with its plans to connect our grid to Tanzania through Mutukula, South Sudan via Nimule and the DRC via Arua.

This is particularly important in view of the surplus we now have, we now generate 2000 MW or about two and a half times our peak demand of 800 MW. Meanwhile our neighbours are all suffering deficits, except for Ethiopia.

This is ironic because 20 years ago when then energy minister Saida Bumba was trying to lock down financing for Bujagali dam, she was made to jump through hoops, flying around the region getting our neighbours to take our power if we failed to consume it. The funders of the dam were not convinced Uganda could consume Bujagali’s 250 MW and were skeptical that the region would either. In hindsight there are many ways to view this, none of which are charitable to our donor partners.

It has been estimated that we have the potential along the Nile to generate 4000 MW, UETCL’s efficient operations will be key to exploiting this potential.

 UETCL reported earlier this year that exports to Kenya had returned to pre-Covid levels of $44m (sh170b) last year and are set to exceed that this year. Already we are selling a million dollars’ worth of power to Rwanda monthly.

The potential to supply to power to eastern Congo and southern Sudan is a mouthwatering opportunity we may only just be beginning to set up for.

It is not inconceivable that in coming years that electricity will become a major export earner.

Locally too the ongoing plans for the electrification of Mbale, Kabale and Kapeeka industrial parks, second phase of a project to support industrial parks around the country, will have far reaching implications for job creation, exports and the general economy.

We have learnt through hard experience that availability of power is critical to economic growth and development. 

"The increase in generation capacity on one hand and the improved efficiencies that Umeme brought to the distribution sector, has played a major part in the unbroken string of economic growth even during Covid lockdown...

The power sector is currently on the brink of a major transition, with the exit of power distributor in March next year. With UETCL beginning to live up to its full potential may just help to smoothen the transition.