Umeme loses 40% of power to illegal users annually
Apr 11, 2006
UMEME’S two-month amnesty campaign for illegal power users to regularise their installations has expired. The power distribution company has now launched a countrywide crackdown on illegal consumers effective April 1. <b>Ricks Kayizzi</b> talked to Paul Mare, the general manager, on the campaign.
UMEME’S two-month amnesty campaign for illegal power users to regularise their installations has expired. The power distribution company has now launched a countrywide crackdown on illegal consumers effective April 1. Ricks Kayizzi talked to Paul Mare, the general manager, on the campaign.
QUESTION: What is Umeme’s stand on illegal connections?
ANSWER: Out of every 100 units we buy from the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company, we invoice only 60 units. 25% of all electricity produced at Nalubaale, Kiira and Lugogo, is lost to illegal consumers. This affects our power distribution business and expansion of infrastructure.
What does this mean to the economy?
Power thefts cost the economy $20m a year. This greatly affects economic development, since electricity is a main ingredient in economic growth and development.
If there were no power losses in the sector, we would be able to expand the number of electricity consumers by 13% annually.
Why did you undertake the costly amnesty and crackdown campaigns?
The drought which has reduced the amount of electricity from 380MW to 185MW, the power available for sell is only 50% of what we used to have. Load-shedding has intensified, and many legally connected customers are suffering because of power rationing. This puts us in a bad position, which we have to reverse if our investment is to stay on course.
Since you launched the crackdown campaign on April 1, what results have you recorded?
We have so far put in place a geographical positioning system (GPS), a world class technological system, which, once put in a particular place, has the ability to sense all irregular flow of electricity. It is accurate in a couple of meters from where it is placed, and can automatically sense any slightest irregularity in supply. Apart from helping us track illegal connections, we use this machine for network planning. When we took over, we discovered that there was no single record of the electricity network. We are still in testing period for the machines. We are yet to net any offenders.
How much have you budgeted for the crackdown campaign? When will it end?
We have put aside $700,000 per year for one to two years for the crackdown operation.
We shall extend this period for as long as it would take us to cover the whole country. We also procured 50 devices, each of which cost $2,000, which we use for network auditing, customer verification and follow-up.
What action will you take against the offenders?
We will take them to courts of law. No matter how small the illegal connection is, it will be taken as a triable case. We will let court decide their fate. The Electricity Act 1999 gives us authority to prosecute any offender.
Is your investment plan still on course despite shortage in power supply?
Ever since Umeme undertook running of Uganda’s electricity distribution sector in March last year, we have invested $10m. This is part of the commitment we made to this country. Up to 2,000 new customers have been connected to the main grid, while 19,000 customers who were previously on direct connection had new meters installed. We have also upgraded 5,000 transformers around the country during this period. At least 39,000 new meters have been installed. We have also been able to erect 19,000 poles in the past 12 months. On average, we install 160 new meters and erect 35 poles daily.
QUESTION: What is Umeme’s stand on illegal connections?
ANSWER: Out of every 100 units we buy from the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company, we invoice only 60 units. 25% of all electricity produced at Nalubaale, Kiira and Lugogo, is lost to illegal consumers. This affects our power distribution business and expansion of infrastructure.
What does this mean to the economy?
Power thefts cost the economy $20m a year. This greatly affects economic development, since electricity is a main ingredient in economic growth and development.
If there were no power losses in the sector, we would be able to expand the number of electricity consumers by 13% annually.
Why did you undertake the costly amnesty and crackdown campaigns?
The drought which has reduced the amount of electricity from 380MW to 185MW, the power available for sell is only 50% of what we used to have. Load-shedding has intensified, and many legally connected customers are suffering because of power rationing. This puts us in a bad position, which we have to reverse if our investment is to stay on course.
Since you launched the crackdown campaign on April 1, what results have you recorded?
We have so far put in place a geographical positioning system (GPS), a world class technological system, which, once put in a particular place, has the ability to sense all irregular flow of electricity. It is accurate in a couple of meters from where it is placed, and can automatically sense any slightest irregularity in supply. Apart from helping us track illegal connections, we use this machine for network planning. When we took over, we discovered that there was no single record of the electricity network. We are still in testing period for the machines. We are yet to net any offenders.
How much have you budgeted for the crackdown campaign? When will it end?
We have put aside $700,000 per year for one to two years for the crackdown operation.
We shall extend this period for as long as it would take us to cover the whole country. We also procured 50 devices, each of which cost $2,000, which we use for network auditing, customer verification and follow-up.
What action will you take against the offenders?
We will take them to courts of law. No matter how small the illegal connection is, it will be taken as a triable case. We will let court decide their fate. The Electricity Act 1999 gives us authority to prosecute any offender.
Is your investment plan still on course despite shortage in power supply?
Ever since Umeme undertook running of Uganda’s electricity distribution sector in March last year, we have invested $10m. This is part of the commitment we made to this country. Up to 2,000 new customers have been connected to the main grid, while 19,000 customers who were previously on direct connection had new meters installed. We have also upgraded 5,000 transformers around the country during this period. At least 39,000 new meters have been installed. We have also been able to erect 19,000 poles in the past 12 months. On average, we install 160 new meters and erect 35 poles daily.