Govt moots power submarine cable to Kalangala Island
Mr Aggrey Kawongolo, the Kalangala Infrastructure Services operations and maintenance engineer explains a point recently. Kalangala Islands relies on a solar plant for all its electricity supplies. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The contract, funded by the African Development Bank for the Shs32b project was awarded to CCC (Beijing) Industrial and Commercial Company in March.
- Kalangala relies on a solar plant, which transmits and distributes to major settlements on main Islands of Kalangala of Bugala.
- It has a connection target of at least 3,000 consumers but to date, there has been low utilisation as the maximum load with average utilisation capacity still below 25 per cent of installed capacity.
Energy Minister Goretti Kitutu is today expected to commission the laying of a 33 kilovolt submarine cable through Lake Victoria to evacuate electricity from the mainland via Bukakata in Masaka District to Bugoma Island to the west Kalangala.
The contract for the Shs32b project under the Rural Electrification Agency was awarded to CCC (Beijing) Industrial and Commercial Company in March.
The works, according to the project document seen by Daily Monitor, covers surveying, structural spotting, line route profiling and pegging, procurement, delivery to site, and laying on the floor of Lake Victoria a seven kilometre submarine cable and two 33 kilovolt switching sub-stations in Bukakata and Bugoma, and 27 distribution transformers.
Other tasks include construction of a medium voltage and low voltage network, installation of distribution transformers and protection equipment, and installation of last mile connections, including the supply of service cable, installation of prepaid metres and distribution ready boards to some 1,651 potential consumers.
Ms Kituttu said more power projects are in the offing to ensure elaborate supply of electricity to the remote islands.
“The challenge at the districts after extending electricity to these new areas will be how the energy is used to maximise benefits and eradicate poverty. People will have to be educated not only about lighting their homes at night but also on the use of electricity for their productive purposes,” she said.
The African Development Bank is financing the project under the Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project to expand grid medium voltage and low voltage distribution networks spread over five service territories in 16 district to provide last-mile connections to consumers.
The submarine cable will complement the 1.6 megawatts (per hour) solar power plant operate by the Kalangala Infrastructure Services, a Public Private Partnership between government and private infrastructure development venture, InfraCo Africa.
