Parliament has tasked the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa to explain the pending load shedding alerts that have been sent out following the flooding at Isimba Hydropower dam.
“I have seen load shedding schedule already released. The issue isn’t about the load shedding, but the panic it has caused, it has scared very many people. I have received 9 MPs over the same issue, the Minister is required to appear tomorrow to make a substantive statement before this house,” Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa, said.
He issued the directive during yesterday’s plenary sitting while responding to a press release issued by Ministry of Energy informing the public of the decision to shutdown Isimba Hydropower Plant due to operational challenges that led to the flow of water into the power house and that the shutdown was undertaken as a safety procedure to ensure safety of staff and protection of electro-mechanical equipment.
The Ministry promised to restore power production within three weeks at Isimba but during this time, the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited was to import 60megawatts from Kenya to ensure continuity of power supply.
However, Tayebwa questioned the decision to import electricity from Kenya pointing out that Uganda has an installed capacity of 1378 megawatts and the country consumes much less 1000 megawatts, yet Isimba dam produces 180 Mega Watts.
The Deputy Speaker also tasked Parliament’s Committee on Environment and natural Resources to investigate the designs at Isimba Dam, noting that during the construction, the project was bogged by allegations of shoddy work.
“Remember there were many issues on the quality of work at Isimba and Karuma, because I don’t know how it could be designed without considering flooding of that nature, so we need to look into those issues. So we need to look into these issues seriously,” said Tayebwa.
John Baptist Nambeshe, Opposition Chief Whip, welcomed the decision by Parliament to probe the flooding at Isimba, wondering why Government would resort to importation of electricity from Kenya yet Uganda has surplus electricity.
He said, “The shutdown of Isimba has already plunged the country into an energy crisis and already in some areas, they have started experiencing intermittent power supply and given the power dam which was commissioned three years ago and that it has already shut down, even if it is still within the period of defects liabilities, it speaks into serious question of the structural integrity of this facility and an investigation must be instituted.”
Nambeshe added, “To find out what could have happened because this speaks to the work which could have been shoddy or work which could have been compromised, that is why it could have been shut down.”
Muwanga Kivumbi reminded Parliament that on several occasions, the Auditor General, John Muwanga has blamed Government for the amount of money paid out in deemed energies because of the failure by Uganda to consume all the power produced.
In the June 2020 audit report, the deemed energy payments to Achwa River Energy Project was marked at Shs64.69bn, and UETCL also incurred deemed energy payments amounting to USD.5,964,592.18 about Shs22.2bn and USD.6,425,017.89 equivalent to Shs23.9bn in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
The Auditor General noted that the deemed energy liabilities to a tune of Shs46.1bn by UETCL as at 30th June, 2020 are unsustainable and cause a significant strain on Government resources and also negatively impacts on consumer electricity prices, which may be a hindrance to electricity demand, thus slowing economic growth.
It should be recalled that in September 2020, Parliament rejecting Government’s proposal to construct a 360MW hydro-power dam at Uhuru Falls in Murchison Falls National Park, saying Uganda is already paying for unconsumed electricity generated, so there is no need to endanger the tourism site for another hydro-dam.
Parliament cited presence of ongoing power projects along the Victoria Nile, including; Karuma, Oriang Hydro, Ayago, Kiba, and Murchison hence, saying there was no need for this hydro power project to be pushed since available dams can provide more power generation.
