UETCL set to connect West Nile to national grid in 2023

The Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) has clarified that the West Nile Sub-region will be connected to the national grid by March 2023.

 Last week, UETCL started the process of stringing the transmission cables on the 67km Kole-Gulu stretch under Phase One of the Grid Expansion and Reinforcement Project (GERP).

 The project seeks to establish 289km of 132kV double circuit transmission line which runs from Kole District, through Gulu and Nebbi, to Arua as well as the construction of the new 40MVA substations at Gulu, Nebbi and Arua as well as 132kV switching station at Kole.

 Speaking to Daily Monitor in an interview at the weekend, Mr Lawrence Kimbowa, the UETCL deputy spokesman, said: “We are optimistic that once other factors remain constant, we must be able to get West Nile on to the national grid in March next year.”

 Mr Kimbowa said UETCL is aware that unreliable electricity supply to West Nile has frustrated economic and industrial development.

 “UETCL is doing all it takes to complete the works in time. Right now, the construction progress of the substations in Kole, Gulu, Nebbi and Arua are all at 70 percent, and what we are hastening to put up are the transmission cables to run through the 289km,” he said.

 Mr Joseph Ogwal, the UETCL Principal Environment Officer, said UETCL has embarked on an extensive community sensitisation on health and safety issues. 

 “The sensitisation is intended to inform the communities along these transmission corridors on what is going on and the safety measures. We are also working with the local leaders at all levels to support this activity and secure it to avoid vandalism in the process,” Mr Ogwal said.

 Had it not been due to challenges faced by both UETCL and the contractors, the works could have been completed in September, Mr Kimbowa said, adding that the contractor requested a six-month contract extension which ends in March.

 “The substation contractor has faced delay in the manufacture of control and protection equipment. It is understood that this has arisen due to the global shortage of semiconductor chips that have affected the completion of works,” he said.

 Mr Kimbowa said Covid-19 pandemic remained an impediment to the project as it affected manufacture, shipment and project teams’ deployment.

 KEC International Ltd is contracted by UETCL to undertake the construction of the 132kv Kole-Gulu-Nebbi-Arua transmission lines and associated lines, Avic International Holdings Corporation is contracted to build the four substations.

The construction cost for the transmission lines is $18.177 million (about Shs17.417 billion), while the substations (Nebbi and Arua with associated 33kV power line interconnectors from Nebbi and Arua Substation) are valued at Shs2.973 billion.

 When this reporter visited the progress on the Gulu-Olwiyo stretch, construction was complete. It was also established that a total of 524 foundations (58.4 percent) for the 289km have been cast while 477 towers (53.2 percent) have been erected.

 The primary equipment for the four substations, including transformers, circuit breakers, current transformers, voltage transformers, surge arrestors, post insulators, and disconnectors had been installed by Sunday while steel structures had been delivered to the site.

Background

In November 2020, President Museveni launched the 132kV Kole-Gulu-Nebbi-Arua transmission project.

 The initiative is meant to evacuate electricity from Karuma, Agago and Nyagak hydropower dams to the West Nile and parts of northern Uganda and link these areas to the national grid.

 But due to delay in completing the project, the political and technical leaders in the West Nile have faulted government for frustrating development.

 Electricity consumers say the current power supply by West Nile Rural Electrification Company (WENRECO) is too pitiful to attract investors to pitch camp in the sub-region.

 WENRECO works off 3.5MW from Nyagak power dam in Zombo District and Electromax Company that has thermal generators at Ewuata in Arua District.

 Last month, Energy minister Ruth Nankabirwa pleaded for patience. She said the sub-region would be added to the national grid in March 2023.

 Members of Parliament’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee early this month engaged power consumers in the West Nile Sub-region.

 The committee head, Dr Emmanuel Otala (Budama West), said they discovered that the sub-region is grappling with intermittent power supply amid growing demand.

The committee camped in the sub-region following a petition presented to House Speaker Anita Among by the disgruntled consumers .

 The committee also toured the two power substations under construction in Nebbi and Arua City at Muni, Nyagak I and II in Zombo District.

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