Plan for other energy sources
Mar 09, 2011
IN December 2010, Eskom Uganda was producing a maximum of 217MW as opposed to its installed capacity of 380 MW. This has drastically reduced to 205 MW in February 2011 due to prolonged droughts which the meteorological centre predicts will continue.
Don Bwesigye
IN December 2010, Eskom Uganda was producing a maximum of 217MW as opposed to its installed capacity of 380 MW. This has drastically reduced to 205 MW in February 2011 due to prolonged droughts which the meteorological centre predicts will continue.
The current energy demand is at approximately between 365MW and 375 MW, but both Eskom and Independent power Producers (IPPs) can only supply only 305 MW to the national grid.
The electricity deficit of 90-95MW has led to increased load shedding reminiscent of the power crisis in 2006. What do we learn from this crisis?
The national development strategy on energy is lopsided because it only focuses on building of large power dams as a solution to the country’s energy crisis.
Unless the Government invests in other renewable sources of energy like geothermal, peat, wind and solar energy, we are headed for disaster. The current global warming, climate change and minimal rains suggest that all the large hydro power dams being constructed are not sustainable and are only a recipe for disaster. These dams will be shut down leaving the country with no alternative source of energy, yet all this could be avoided by preparing and planning early.
In Tanzania, the authorities are planning to shut down major hydro plants which were meant to produce 562MW in full operation, but are producing 180MW only because the water levels are dropping rapidly at a rate of 3cm every day. The same situation is happening in Uganda with Lake Victoria waters once again reportedly dropping everyday.
It is now obvious that the country will be unable to meet some of the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) such as health and eradication of poverty among others because the current power crisis is likely to lead to a closure of industries and factories. The crisis will also hamper rural electrification and halt health infrastructure and amenities development in rural communities.
The political instability and vacuum in North Africa could threaten energy security and the proposed power projects along River Nile if radical Islamists assume power in Egypt which has, for long, been opposed to downstream control and access over the Nile waters.
Wikileaks recently revealed how former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak once considered use of force against upstream countries in protection of its historical interests over the Nile. This explains why the revised Nile River Cooperative Framework pact remains unsigned by Egypt and Sudan jointly opposed to upstream countries like Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania’s control and use of Victoria waters for modern agricultural projects to improve their food security.
This impasse between upstream and downstream countries over the Nile waters, political instability in the North, unsustainable large power dams along the River Nile, global warming and climate change and the current power crisis in Uganda and Tanzania should be evidence enough to the Government, the energy ministry, World Bank and African Development Bank, that the time is now to revisit, the energy policy and legal framework in Uganda.
These organs should promote energy diversification investment, development of alternative and sustainable use of renewable energy sources like geothermal, solar, peat and wind. Only then can we avert the looming energy crisis in Uganda and guarantee continued economic growth and stability.
The writer is a mining, energy and natural resources advocate and a fellow at the Africa Institute for Energy Governance
IN December 2010, Eskom Uganda was producing a maximum of 217MW as opposed to its installed capacity of 380 MW. This has drastically reduced to 205 MW in February 2011 due to prolonged droughts which the meteorological centre predicts will continue.
The current energy demand is at approximately between 365MW and 375 MW, but both Eskom and Independent power Producers (IPPs) can only supply only 305 MW to the national grid.
The electricity deficit of 90-95MW has led to increased load shedding reminiscent of the power crisis in 2006. What do we learn from this crisis?
The national development strategy on energy is lopsided because it only focuses on building of large power dams as a solution to the country’s energy crisis.
Unless the Government invests in other renewable sources of energy like geothermal, peat, wind and solar energy, we are headed for disaster. The current global warming, climate change and minimal rains suggest that all the large hydro power dams being constructed are not sustainable and are only a recipe for disaster. These dams will be shut down leaving the country with no alternative source of energy, yet all this could be avoided by preparing and planning early.
In Tanzania, the authorities are planning to shut down major hydro plants which were meant to produce 562MW in full operation, but are producing 180MW only because the water levels are dropping rapidly at a rate of 3cm every day. The same situation is happening in Uganda with Lake Victoria waters once again reportedly dropping everyday.
It is now obvious that the country will be unable to meet some of the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) such as health and eradication of poverty among others because the current power crisis is likely to lead to a closure of industries and factories. The crisis will also hamper rural electrification and halt health infrastructure and amenities development in rural communities.
The political instability and vacuum in North Africa could threaten energy security and the proposed power projects along River Nile if radical Islamists assume power in Egypt which has, for long, been opposed to downstream control and access over the Nile waters.
Wikileaks recently revealed how former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak once considered use of force against upstream countries in protection of its historical interests over the Nile. This explains why the revised Nile River Cooperative Framework pact remains unsigned by Egypt and Sudan jointly opposed to upstream countries like Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania’s control and use of Victoria waters for modern agricultural projects to improve their food security.
This impasse between upstream and downstream countries over the Nile waters, political instability in the North, unsustainable large power dams along the River Nile, global warming and climate change and the current power crisis in Uganda and Tanzania should be evidence enough to the Government, the energy ministry, World Bank and African Development Bank, that the time is now to revisit, the energy policy and legal framework in Uganda.
These organs should promote energy diversification investment, development of alternative and sustainable use of renewable energy sources like geothermal, solar, peat and wind. Only then can we avert the looming energy crisis in Uganda and guarantee continued economic growth and stability.
The writer is a mining, energy and natural resources advocate and a fellow at the Africa Institute for Energy Governance