UETCL explains what caused Sunday morning power outage

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The Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) has attributed the Sunday, April 12, 2026, nationwide power outage to a technical fault on the transmission network at the Lugogo Substation, which triggered automatic protection systems designed to safeguard the national grid.

Muhammad Lubogo, the manager of public and corporate communications at UETCL, explained that system disturbances can lead to a trip on the transmission network and subsequently affect the stability of the national grid.

UETCL is the national system operator responsible for coordinating the real-time operation of the electricity grid and ensuring balance between power generation and demand. It serves as the critical link between electricity generators and distribution companies.

“A disturbance or fault at any point in the power system, generation, transmission, or distribution can destabilise the grid and, in severe cases, lead to a widespread or national blackout. For example, if a major generation source such as Isimba Hydropower Plant were to suddenly go offline, it would create an immediate imbalance between supply and demand. This imbalance results in a drop in system frequency, which can trigger automatic protection mechanisms and lead to a grid-wide outage,” Lubogo added.

UETCL, in a statement released on Sunday morning, confirmed that the country suffered a national power outage which occurred at 8:53 am, but that its technical teams had commenced efforts to restore the national grid in the shortest time possible while investigating the cause of the incident.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused and appreciate the public's patience during the restoration process,” the statement read.

Shortly after, Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited public relations officer Jonan Kiiza, in a separate statement, also noted that, “as per communique from our single supplier UETCL, the country has suffered a national blackout this morning. We shall restore the distribution grid as soon as our supplier UETCL restores the national Grid. We sincerely apologise for this inconvenience caused. In the meantime, switch off all production lines and domestic power sources, until we notify you of full restoration. We thank you once again”.

This is not the first time the country has experienced power blackouts, with the most recent major incident having been on August 13, 2020.

Eskom Uganda Limited, which was then operating the Nalubaale power station, said the cause of the blackout had been a bucket carrier that came into contact with a live conductor during routine maintenance.

The April 14, 2020, blackout was blamed on moving islands that reportedly blocked turbines.