Rwanda has implemented one of the most comprehensive electrification programmes in the world Kampala, Uganda | JÖRG PETERS | More than 1.1 billion people in developing countries lack access to electricity. Some 590 million live in Africa, where the rural electrification rate is particularly low at only 14%. A lack of access to …
Read More »‘Investments in distribution will cut electricity tariffs’
Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Ziria Tibalwa Waako is the Chief Executive Officer of the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA). The Independent’s Julius Businge attended a media training workshop on March 6 where she responded to a number of questions. How would you describe Uganda’s electricity sector at the moment? Uganda’s …
Read More »UK’s top energy supplier Centrica says cutting 4,000 jobs
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain’s top energy supplier Centrica said Thursday it would cut 4,000 jobs by 2020 after announcing a 17-percent drop in profits in 2017 due to a loss of customers and poor performance in North America. “We expected the new programme to involve reduction in …
Read More »COMMENT: UEGCL’s strategic plan
Launched in December 2017, the 5-year plan is to ensure reliable, affordable electricity COMMENT | SIMON P. KASYATE | The renowned English strategic thinker and consultant, Dr. Max McKeown, in one of his best seller books on strategic planning titled `The Strategy Book’, opines that: “With a clever strategy, each action …
Read More »Isimba dam gets new supervising engineers
Isimba dam gets new engineers Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | The Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL) has announced a new Owner’s Engineer (OE) for the 183MW hydropower dam located in Kayunga district. The new OE, which is taking over from Energy Infratech PvT Limited (EIPL), is Artelia EAU …
Read More »Electricity boom in 2018
Karuma, Isimba hydropower projects to add 783MW Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Uganda’s electricity supply is expected to increase later this year as government switches on Isimba and Karuma hydropower dams amidst low electricity demand. The government is set to launch Isimba (183MW) and Karuma (600MW) hydropower dams – …
Read More »Uganda needs new investors to consume excess electricity
Why Uganda needs to attract new investors to consume excess electricity Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | On Nov. 16, power distributor, Umeme Limited held a media dialogue in Kampala where top managers – Selestino Babungi (managing director) and Sam Zimbe (deputy MD) answered questions about their work since 2005. The …
Read More »Burkina Faso launches Sahel region’s largest solar power plant
Zagtouli, Burkina Faso | AFP | West Africa’s biggest solar power plant goes onstream on Wednesday as Burkina Faso, one of the world’s poorest countries, inaugurates a novel scheme to boost renewables and cut energy dependence on its neighbours. The 55-hectare (135-acre) plant at Zagtouli on the outskirts of the …
Read More »Umeme investment in power distribution infrastructure paying off
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Umeme Limited Nov.16 held a media dialogue to highlight the utility’s investments in the power distribution infrastructure. Speaking at the event, Managing Director Selectino Babungi said Umeme had cumulatively invested over $500m in the distribution network. He revealed that the investments have led to the doubling …
Read More »Inside Umeme’s Shs47.5bn loss
UMEME: Company fails to win court case against ERA, writes off Shs115.3bn from its balance sheet Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Electricity distributor, Umeme Limited, recorded a first ever loss since it listed its shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange and the Nairobi Secures Exchange five years ago. …
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