The Grind – Patrick Kamara Hosts Samson Tondo Ssemakalu
Of late, several parts of Uganda connected to the national electricity grid have been experiencing intermittent power outages.
The unreliable power supply has caused significant inconvenience and financial losses for consumers. Households are often left without access to a service they have already paid for, while business operators are unable to run their equipment, disrupting operations and, in some cases, exposing them to risks such as fire outbreaks.
The national electricity distribution company, Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL), attributes the ongoing outages to a combination of ageing inherited infrastructure, rapid growth in electricity demand, overloaded network equipment and widespread vandalism.
In this week’s episode of The Grind with Patrick Kamara, Engineer Samson Tondo Ssemakalu, Head of Engineering Services at UEDCL’s Central Region, acknowledges the strain the unreliable supply has placed on the company’s 2.8 million customers. He explains that UEDCL is implementing a US$125 million capital investment plan aimed at overhauling and modernising the electricity distribution network.
He offers hope that power supply will stabilise once the ongoing substation upgrade and overhaul works are completed. However, he stops short of assuring consumers that the persistent power outages will come to an end within the next few months
The Grind – Patrick Kamara Hosts Samson Tondo Ssemakalu
Of late, several parts of Uganda connected to the national electricity grid have been experiencing intermittent power outages.
The unreliable power supply has caused significant inconvenience and financial losses for consumers. Households are often left without access to a service they have already paid for, while business operators are unable to run their equipment, disrupting operations and, in some cases, exposing them to risks such as fire outbreaks.
The national electricity distribution company, Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL), attributes the ongoing outages to a combination of ageing inherited infrastructure, rapid growth in electricity demand, overloaded network equipment and widespread vandalism.
In this week’s episode of The Grind with Patrick Kamara, Engineer Samson Tondo Ssemakalu, Head of Engineering Services at UEDCL’s Central Region, acknowledges the strain the unreliable supply has placed on the company’s 2.8 million customers. He explains that UEDCL is implementing a US$125 million capital investment plan aimed at overhauling and modernising the electricity distribution network.
He offers hope that power supply will stabilise once the ongoing substation upgrade and overhaul works are completed. However, he stops short of assuring consumers that the persistent power outages will come to an end within the next few months