West
Nile Rural Electrification Company (WENRECo), an Electric energy generating and distribution Company in the West Nile sub-region, has expressed concern about vandalizing of electric line in the region.
Kenneth
Kigumba, the General Manager of WENRECo, disclosed that in October alone,
fifteen electric pylons collapsed after their anchors were vandalized.
//Cue
in: “Just this month…
Cue
out: …too costly.”//
On
August 3rd, 2024, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni commissioned a 289-kilometer
Kole-Gulu- Arua 132 kilovolt Transmission Line and associated 80MVA 132kV
substations in Kole, Gulu Nebbi and Arua, which finally connected West Nile to
the national grid after years of the sub-region not having power.
However,
some areas are still not connected to electricity, even though the
infrastructure is in place.
Kigumba
explained that the non-powered electricity infrastructure is one of the reasons
for vandalism.
//Cue
in: “We still have…
Cue
out: …the entire money.”//
Kigumba
appealed to the local leaders to sensitize the community on the need to
collectively guard the electricity infrastructure against destruction and
theft, saying the electricity distributor cannot do it alone.
//Cue
in: “We are pushing…
Cue
out: …the user.”//
Thomas
Ochom, a resident of Arua City suggested that WENRECo should make people part
of their business by selling shares.
“If
the community can own, maybe we could cut some of the hazards. If people feel
they are part of WENRECo, they will be reporting all these bushfires
themselves, because they own the business,” Ochom explained.
However,
Kigumba said it is not possible to sell shares at the moment because the
business is not stable.
A 2021
report by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development indicates that Kampala
and Wakiso provide the biggest market for stolen electricity infrastructure.
It
noted that such infrastructure is sold to steel and aluminum smelters, who
sometimes source their materials locally. Some vandalized materials are sold to
dealers in electrical materials and metal welding workshops, who use
transformer oil in their welding machines.
It
adds that Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited spends an average of
600 million shillings per year to repair vandalized towers on the existing
lines across the country.
Section
85(3) of the Electricity (Amendment) Act, 2022, prescribes a 15-year jail term
or fine of 100,000 currency points, an equivalent of shillings 2 billion, or
both for any person convicted of theft or vandalism of electric materials.
