Karuma hydropower dam to light up Acholi

                                                                                                                
The power blackout in Acholi Sub-region could soon end if the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) approves the tapping  of electricity from Karuma Hydropower dam to Gulu sub-station.

Daily Monitor has established that Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (UEDCL) recently tabled the plans for approval and subsequent funding before ERA . 

Mr Jonan Kiiza, the UEDCL spokesperson, last week said the power distributor aims at positioning multiple electricity feeders to Acholi .

“We are set to tap power from the Karuma dam which will soon be commissioned. Once this plan materialises, the power challenge of the sub-region will permanently be answered,” Mr Kiiza said. 

He said the development will also improve the voltage quality in Adjumani and Moyo districts which have suffered power outages. 

Recently, Mr Simon D’Ujang, the State Minister for Energy, said funding for the project had been agreed on pending approval, adding that the new 32Kv diversion line would be drawn from the 132Kv (75km) Karuma-Lira transmission line at Kamdini.

 “That will be a big boost to the region once we are done with it, it is underway and UEDCL will undertake the project,”  Mr D’Ujanga said. 

Power distributors such as Umeme, UETCL, UEDCL and Rural Electrification Agency been undertaking projects to improve supply in the sub-region.

Currently, Gulu and Kitgum substations, which supply Acholi, are switched off for three working days due to ongoing renovation works on the Gulu-Lira and Gulu-Kitgum distribution lines.

The works started in 2019 but were halted last year following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Regarding the delayed works, Mr Kiiza claimed they have usually met resistance from Umeme, which  denies UEDCL shutdown requests to allow the contractor proceed with the work.

 “You can’t work on the power lines when the electrons are flowing, it has to be off although the blackouts do not go well with the public who perceive it as if we are disenfranchising them,”  he said.

Mr Kiiza said renovating Gulu-Lira, Gulu-Kitgum lines had also met resistance from the public over compensation claims yet  they (public) were paid.

 During rainy seasons, the two feeders suffer because poles fall down since they are on soft ground, especially in swampy areas, causing power outages. 

 “We are addressing this by introducing concrete poles mostly in wetland areas. During the dry seasons, we have another big challenge of wildfires that have continually ravaged distribution lines, so replacing them with concrete poles is the real deal,” Mr Kiiza added.

 Last week, UEDCL and Umeme officials met Gulu City and district leaders to address issues of power instability in the sub-region.

Officials say works on the two lines are expected to be finished by next month.

Mr John Baptist Magulu, Umeme’s customer service engineer, said they have doubled the Gulu substation’s capacity from 5MW to 10MW to cope with growing demand.

“We are focusing our investments on upgrading the network to improve electricity reliability. The line from Lira to Gulu and Kitgum is being refurbished, including installation of concrete poles,” Mr Magulu said.