Domestic consumers drag UEDCL, Umeme to court

Sep 26, 2010

POWER distributor Umeme has been dragged to court by domestic consumers.Jointly dragged to court with Umeme are the Uganda Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL), the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) and the Attorney General.

By Justine Nakitende and Conan Businge

POWER distributor Umeme has been dragged to court by domestic consumers.Jointly dragged to court with Umeme are the Uganda Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL), the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) and the Attorney General.

The suit was filed at the Kampala High Court by the African Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) and 1,927 electricity consumers.

During a press conference on Thursday at Rock Gardens in Kampala, Dickens Kamugisha, the AFIEGO chief executive officer, said the institute had complained to Umeme several times before, but their grievances were ignored.

“Despite some improvements in transmission and thermal generation, our electricity sector is in a crisis and consumers are being exploited more,” he said.

The consumers want court to compel Umeme to recall electricity meters, test them, have them certified by Uganda National Bureau of Standards, before re-installing them so that consumers are billed directly.

But Umeme says it installs meters compliant with the International Electro-technical Commission standards.

The consumers also want court to order a tariff reduction of sh238 from sh385 per unit for all domestic users.

In a press statement, Sam Zimbe, the Umeme general manager of corporate and regulatory affairs, said: “Since November 2006, end-user tariffs have remained stable. At the beginning of this year, the authority announced a 10% reduction in the domestic consumer end-user tariff.”

The complainants want Umeme’s 20-year concession agreement with UEDCL terminated and the cancellation of the distribution licence issued to it by ERA.

They want court to order Umeme to remit sh452b to Government, which the company received as subsidies from 2001 when they entered the concession agreement.

But Zimbe contended that Umeme has never received government subsidies.

“The Government uses its subsidies to buy down the power supply cost which fluctuates with the ever changing cost of fuel on the market.”

The consumers added that if Umeme fails to issue the monthly bills, consumers “should not be held liable” to pay for the months in which the bill was not served.

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