UEDCL launches sh16b works in Rwenzori
“We had so many power interruptions occasioned by poles falling in the park due to bush fires which deteriorated their lifespans,” Okoch said during the ground breaking of the works at Kasese district offices on Wednesday.
Officials participate in the works ground breaking at Kasese district offices on Wednesday. (Courtesy photos)
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Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) has launched refurbishment works valued at sh16b on two major 33kV feeder lines that serve the Rwenzori and Ankole sub-regions.
The project involves refurbishing the 100-kilometre Nkenda-Ishaka and 11-kilometre Nkenda-Kasese feeders by upgrading over 100 kilometres of conductor, replacing the wooden poles along the two lines with concrete poles, all aimed at enhancing reliability.
The Nkenda- Ishaka capacity and reliability improvement project forms part of UEDCL’s efforts to invest in critical distribution infrastructure in order to improve the quality and reliability of power supply across its footprint.
According to Eng. Johnson Okoch, the project manager, a UEDCL internal report in 2022 identified the nearly 100-kilometre Nkenda-Ishaka feeder that serves districts of Kasese, Rubirizi and Bushenyi as one of the worst-performing lines with over 500 hours of outage duration a year.
The poor performance was partly attributed to the feeder’s old age and bush burning activities in the Queen Elizabeth national park, leading to what officials described as premature pole structure failure.
The condition was exacerbated by the commissioning of four small hydropower plants, including Kyambura, Lubilia and Nyamagasani I and Nyamagasani 2, with a combined installed capacity of 34 megawatts, which left the feeder overloaded, worsening its technical losses.
“As a result, we have really faced challenges. Power has been on and off. This increased our operational costs and distorted our work when it came to customer service. We could not deliver well due to this ageing infrastructure,” Marion Ninsiima, UEDCL’s area operations manager for the Rwenzori service territory, said.
The sh16 billion works are expected to be completed over an eight-month period.
“Once completed, the project is expected to significantly reduce power outages and unplanned power failures on both the Nkenda–Ishaka and Nkenda–Kasese 33kV feeders. The upgraded network will also enable the efficient evacuation of electricity generated by hydropower plants within the Rwenzori region,” Okochi observed.
Eng. Johnson Okoch, the project manager, speaking during the ground breaking ceremony at Kasese district offices on Wednesday.
However, Ninsiima explained that customers in the affected districts are likely to experience disruptions during the period.
“Unfortunately, during the repair period, there may be intermittent supply as a result. We appeal to our customers to bear with us during this period for a great and better service delivery at the end of the day.
The upgraded infrastructure will improve switching operations and stability of the network. Our customers should expect fewer interruptions, improved voltage stability and more reliable power supply,” Ninsiima said.