Kanungu gets power after years in darkness

Oct 07, 2007

TODAY, nights of darkness have become history in the hitherto remote district of Kanungu. The Government has finalised construction of the high voltage power line to supply electricity to the district.

By Ronald Kalyango

TODAY, nights of darkness have become history in the hitherto remote district of Kanungu. The Government has finalised construction of the high voltage power line to supply electricity to the district.

The National Contracting Company of Saudi Arabia and Ferdsult Engineering Services, are behind the sh10b project.
President Yoweri Museveni launched the Rural Electrification Project in January 2006 during his campaign in the district.

The project was later split into two phases; phase one covered Rukungiri to Kanungu and Kayonza at a cost of sh7.8b. Phase two covered Ruhinda, Byhunga, Ruruku, Kitijo, Nyakiju, Kahoko and Rugondo in Rukungiri and extensions to Rugyeyo- Butogota-Savannah Hotel at a cost of sh3.9b.

Kanungu district contributed some money towards the project.
“The contribution was less than 3% of the total cost, but was significant because it demonstrated a determination by the district to develop its people,” said Godfrey Turyahikayo, the executive director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), which implemented the project.

He said the project had been started by the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company earlier, but stalled due to limited funds. In 2006, the Government mobilised funds for the project.

“Now that the district has power, the challenge is how to use it to eradicate poverty. People will have to be educated on how to use power for productive purposes,” Turyahikayo said.

People, he said, should be ready to pay the connection fees and should generate activities that would enable them to pay the bills.

Barbara Musoke, REA’s Outreach and public relations manager, said people should not just jubilate for having got power, but should use it for economic gain.

“The electricity will have to be paid for, therefore, people must use it economically. We will educate the people on how to use electricity efficiently so that it remains affordable,” Musoke said.

However, residents who have already been connected to the grid expressed concern about the high connection fees and power tariffs.

“It had been agreed that we would be connected to the grid through a loan scheme, but this has not taken off,” said John Musinguzi, a resident of Kihihi.
The district officials were also concerned about the high connection fees and tariffs.

“We pay about sh360,000 for connection and sh680 per unit. This is a lot of money for low-income earners,” said Ali Rugomwa, the district’s secretary for production.

However, Levi Lenzi, the district electrician in charge of the district generator, said connecting to the power grid has enabled the district save money.
“We have been spending about sh190,000 to run a diesel generator every week.

Today, we use power worth sh100,000 a week,” he said.

Robert Zaali, an engineer with the Kayonza Growers Tea Factory, said with the presence of the power in the district, the factory would be able to save some money.

Over the years the factory has been using three generators. He said they would spend about sh900m annually on diesel and up to sh1.2b for maintenance.

“It is difficult to break even when using generators, but with power, we are confident that we will make profits,” he said.

Rose Nakagaba, the manager for Ferdsult Engineering Services’ distribution division, said they have connected about 100 customers to the grid.
She said they issue clients with pre-paid metres.

The metres are equipped with light emitting diodes to inform consumers when 75% of the credit energy has been consumed.

The consumer then recharges the pre-paid card from a sales terminal or distribution point.

During this process, any changes in the tariff can be loaded onto the card.
Turyahikayo, however, said they want concessionaires to ensure that beneficiaries get a great deal.

Ferdinand Mugisha, the managing director of Ferdsult Engineering Services, said the people should be appreciative. To him, they are a new company, which found no established infrastructure.

“People should not compare us to UMEME. We are not so sure of the customer base, UMEME found about 100,000 customers and infrastructure.”

He said the connection fees for commercial infrastructure depends on the workload on the premises.

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