By Ritah Kemigisa
Power distributor Umeme has welcomed the signing of the Electricity Amendment Bill, 2022 into a law.
On Wednesday, President Museveni assented to eight laws that were passed by parliament among them, the Electricity Act.
Speaking to KFM, the Umeme managing director Selestino Babungi says the Act will go a long way in addressing vandalism of power lines and other key distribution infrastructure.
The government has in the past three years intensified investment in electricity generation, transmission and distribution operations throughout the country but Umeme has often decried the rampant cases of vandalism of power supply infrastructure.
Between 2016 and 2020, the power distributor lost over shs 20 billion in transformers, stay wires which were either stolen or destroyed by vandals.
Babungi says the law is a game changer in fighting power theft and vandalism as it prescribes deterrent penalties for offenders.
According to the law, all persons found guilty of power theft will be subjected to a fine of Shs1b or be jailed for 15 years and, or, both.
