Power distributor Umeme is building a switching station in Lyantonde District worth US$1m (Shs3.7bn) to improve supply in the district, Masaka and Mbarara cities.
The Managing Director Umeme, Mr. Selestino Babungi says the switching station will be up and running by June 2021.
“Once it is in place, it will quicken the detection of faults between Masaka and Mbarara since it is a midpoint between the two cities. It will also help keep the factories in production 24/7 by switching them from a faulty line to the one without a fault,” Babungi said.
Amos Dairies, one of the large power users in the region, says through investment in the grid, Umeme is improving power supply quality and reliability.
Mr. Ram Kumar, the Factory Manager, Amos Dairies, one of the large power consumers in Western Uganda commended Umeme for providing stable power supply which has enabled them to operate without outages. He said the Switching station will not only help in improving on the power reliability but also increase on the voltage that the factory needs to operate.
Mr. Babungi says after Umeme put up a Shs5billion substation in Ishaka and interconnected it with a transmission substation in Mbarara, power users are extremely happy with the quality of supply.
Babungi was speaking during an onspot visit to customers in Western Uganda to assess the level of service delivery as the Company continues to invest in reliable and stable power supply.
The team visited Amos Dairies, Sino Industrial Park, Global Village Tea, Kiko Tea and some of Umeme’s installations.
Commenting on the excursion which took place from last week, Mr. Babungi said, “We had an opportunity to meet our customers in the Western Region—they indicated prospects in growth of their business following Umeme’s investments and improved reliability of power supply.”
He said investments are important for the Country to create jobs, earn foreign exchange and economic development.
Babungi said there’s a link between Umeme’s investments in the network and supply reliability.
“When we put up a substation in the Ishaka zone in addition to other investments like the Kibiito, Rugendabara & Hima switching stations, the region became energy secure with higher levels of reliability,” he said.
Caroline Atuhaire Twine, the General Manager Global Village Tea in Ishaka Bushenyi thanked Umeme for the good service. “As your biggest customer in Bushenyi we are grateful to you for bringing a substation near to us. There is stable power supply and response to breakdowns has greatly improved,” she said.
Between 2005 and 2019, Umeme had invested $654million in expanding the length of the distribution grid, reducing energy losses, and connecting applicants to the grid.
