Bujagali develops dam-break emergency protocols

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Bujagali Energy Limited (BEL) has developed a plan that can be followed in case there is dam break emergencies.

A dam break occurs when the civil structure of a hydroelectricity generation facility fails to perform and breaks down. This will result in flooding downstream of the plant.

“This plan gives us insights into the kinds of emergencies that may occur in case of a dam break and how we need to respond to them,” Michael Taremwa Kananura, BEL chief finance officer, said during a media briefing on Wednesday.

BEL currently operates the 250-megawatt Bujagali power plant on River Nile in Buikwe district.

About 8 kilometres upstream of Bujagali is located Nalubaale and Kiira power plants, while about 40 kilometres downstream lies the 183-MW Isimba hydropower plant, while further North lies the 600-MW Karuma hydropower plant.

River Nile in totality is host to the largest power plants generating over 70% of the country’s electricity.

Alaister McDougal, the Bujagali general manager, explained that these power plants face inherent risks that could result in dam breaks and as such, there is need to be prepared to deal with any emergencies to save lives.

“These dams have inherent risks in them, though of low probability. But because of the amount of energy stored they have behind them, any dam break causes the release of large volumes of water.

This can have very huge consequences on the people downstream. So, it is incumbent on dam owners to have emergency response plans to deal with scenarios where a dam may be threatened or actually at that point of failure to protect the people downstream,” McDougall said.

Last year, the company conducted a dam break drill with the sole purpose of gauging their level of preparedness of the key stakeholders in case of a dam break.

“The findings of the drill revealed that the immediate response teams were not adequately prepared to respond to a dam break if it occurred” a statement released on Wednesday stated.

It’s against this background that the company has organised a sensitisation workshop to ensure that all parties involved know, understand and are prepared to execute their roles in the event of an emergency.

The sensitisation workshop to be held in Kampala on Thursday (October 16, 2025) is expected to attract stakeholders like the Office of the Prime Minister, the Uganda Police Force, the Electricity Regulatory Authority, and companies operating generation facilities.