KAMPALA – The Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa has summoned the Energy and Minerals Development Minister, Ruth Nankabirwa to appear on Thursday before the House over the power shutdown saga.
“We have seen a schedule for loadshedding and yet we were told that we don’t consume as much as we produce. I have seen that we shall now import power from Kenya yet you say we consume just 800 megawatts. …of the over 1000mw we produce. It also comes down to the quality of works we undertake,” said Tayebwa – chairing Wednesday plenary sitting.
In his communication to the House, the Deputy Speaker said the issue of flooding at Isimba needs to be cleared.
“Honourable colleagues remember there are many issues on the quality at Karuma and Izimba dams. We don’t consume 100 megawatts as a country. There is panic among Ugandans that the minister should appear before us tomorrow and explain the matter.”
His directive follows concern from the legislators who informed him that there was a big problem in regard to the power shutdown.
On Tuesday, the Minister said Uganda will import 60MW of power from Kenya after the emergency shutdown of Isimba dam.
Last week on Monday 8th a decision was made to shut down the Isimba Hydropower plant in Kayunga district, as a precautionary measure due to operational challenge that led to the flow of water into the powerhouse. The shutdown was, according to the ministry, undertaken as a safety procedure to ensure the safety of staff and the protection of electromechanical equipment.
This however left a 183-megawatt deficit on the national grid which caused several disruptions in the power supply. According to Nankabirwa, the Uganda Electricity Company Limited (UEGCL) is working around the clock to restore power production at Isimba hydropower plant.
