Umeme to spend Shs5b on new Kakiri substation
Power transmission. Kakiri, Nansana and Wakiso currently rely on the Kawanda and Busunju feeders, which, given the area they traverse, are prone to current drops. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- According to Umeme, Uganda’s installed generation capacity has increased by 15 per cent to 1,134 megawatts from 984 megawatts as a result of the addition of Isimba Dam, which has capacity of 183 megawatts. Electricity sales have also increased by 6 per cent to 3,183 GWh from 3,011 GWh in 2018.
Umeme has said it will invest $1.3m (Shs5b) in a substation in Kakiri to stabilise power supply in Kakiri, Nansana and Wakiso areas.
Speaking to the Daily Monitor, Mr Stephen llungole, the Umeme media relations manager, said there were a couple of investments lined up that seek to improve reliability, quality of supply, loss reduction and increased access.
Kakiri, Nansana and Wakiso currently rely on the Kawanda and Busunju feeders, which, given the area they traverse, are prone to current drops.
The $1.3m (Shs5b) will be spent on acquiring land, constructing the plant and guard houses, two transformers, switchgear and protection relays.
Other expenses will go to power cables, earthing, scada system and on storm water drainage.
Umeme, according to Arnold Kalyegira, the company’s project manager, is now in the course of procuring a contractor for the project.
Kakiri, Nansana and Wakiso are fast-growing areas in terms of power consumption and according to Mr Kalyegira, the substation will reduce power supply interruptions that would have resulted from the decommissioning and redesign of the Namungoona substation.
In Kakiri alone, according to Umeme, unmet demand for power is projected to increase by 19 per cent between now and 2026 while in Nansana there will be a 13 per cent increase. Umeme, as of December 2018 had over 33 substations and 12,631 transformers.
Umeme also has a number of other projects in the pipeline key among them Ntinda substation configuration, Gulu substation configuration and Mbale Industrial Park substation development.
Umeme, which currently has 1.5 million customers on its network has plans to connect two million more premises to the national power grid within the next five years.
Generation
According to Umeme, Uganda’s installed generation capacity has increased by 15 per cent to 1,134 megawatts from 984 megawatts as a result of the addition of Isimba Dam, which has capacity of 183 megawatts. Electricity sales have also increased by 6 per cent to 3,183 GWh from 3,011 GWh in 2018.
