VP commissions Queens Way power sub-station

L-R: CEO UETCL William Kiryahika, Energy Minister. Irene Muloni, Vice-President Edward Ssekandi, State minister for Energy Simon Djanga and Kampala Minister Betty Kamya during the commissioning of the Queensway Power Sub-station

The Government has commissioned the upgraded queen's way power station that will supply Kampala Central Business District and Entebbe areas with reliable power.

In a speech read for him by the Vice-President, Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi, the President said that one of the benefits of the Queen's Way station will be increased and reliable power supply.

The President commended the Japanese Government for the $16m grant that was the principal funding for the project. Uganda contributed $5m to the project.

According to the Minister for Energy and Mineral Development Irene Muloni, the substation that cost about sh80b to upgrade from 33KVA to 132KVA will relieve the primary transmission stations of Mutundwe, Lugogo, Kawaala and Kampala North of excess load.

This comes just days after the Government launched a new 10 year electricity connection policy that will offer free electricity connection to rural households so as to boost rural social transformation as envisaged in the Government Development plan 2020.

The government also aims at increasing the annual number of connections in the rural areas from the current 70,000 to 300,000 by 2027.

The President said the NRM Government took a strategic position to prioritise the energy sector saying, besides being a crucial catalyst to social economic transformation, energy is directly linked to economic growth and transformation and central to the attainment of all sustainable development goals.

Muloni said the Government under the Rural Electrification Strategy 2013/2022, has been extending power to various parts in the country and hopes to achieve 60 percent power coverage by 2027.