UEDCL blames local transformer manufacturers for power outages

The Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) has blamed unreliable electricity supply partly on the failure of local transformer manufacturers to meet rising demand, saying it plans to import at least 1,000 units within the next three months to address the growing shortage.

Innocent Byamukama, UEDCL’s head of procurement and disposal, said that despite the government’s policy of supporting domestic production and committing more than Shs 104 billion to local manufacturers, the suppliers had been unable to deliver the required transformers because of limited production capacity.

“We have Shs 104 billion trapped with local manufacturers who cannot supply transformers because the demand is too high. We are, therefore, thinking of importing transformers from regional and international suppliers,” Byamukama said.

The shortage comes as UEDCL struggles to upgrade an electricity distribution network under increasing pressure from rapid urbanisation, industrialisation and the growing number of electricity connections since the company took over distribution operations from Umeme.

Eng. Joselynne Rwabwogo Rwakakooko, UEDCL’s acting managing director, said the company understood the challenges facing consumers and was implementing short-, medium- and long-term interventions to improve supply reliability.

“We don’t just supply power, but we also enable the economy, enable businesses, and are quite a central part of that,” she said.

Rwabwogo said UEDCL’s customer base had grown by 70 per cent over the past five years, from about 1.5 million to 2.8 million customers.

In Greater Kampala alone, electricity demand has increased by more than 60 per cent, with a 20 per cent increase recorded in the past year.

She attributed the growth to new residential settlements, commercial establishments and factories, particularly in Greater Kampala, where industrial activity has expanded rapidly.

“It means more homes, shops, factories and more customers connecting. It also shows how much Uganda is industrialising, since a lot of the growth has been industrial, especially in the Greater Kampala area. However, the networks carrying this increased load have not kept up with the pace of growth,” she said.

According to Rwabwogo, the rapid expansion of settlements had also placed pressure on infrastructure originally designed to serve fewer consumers.

In some areas, electricity lines and transformers are carrying loads beyond their designed capacity, resulting in voltage fluctuations, equipment failures and prolonged outages.

“Some places which were not settled earlier have since grown. Houses have been built, and we are seeing that in the areas experiencing the largest growth. That is where the biggest constraints have been. We have seen voltages at transformer levels dropping, basically because of this growth,” she said.

She said overloaded equipment was more vulnerable to faults, while limited alternative supply options in high-demand areas made it difficult to maintain electricity supply as repairs were carried out.

Rwabwogo said the company was prioritising areas experiencing the most severe capacity constraints through immediate repairs, infrastructure upgrades and long-term investments.

She revealed that UEDCL had replaced more than 1,343 transformers following an increase in failures associated with the growing number of electricity connections.

However, she said transformer supply remained a major challenge, prompting the company to explore alternative procurement sources while supporting local manufacturers to increase production.

“We are thinking outside the box to see how much supply can come from Uganda by boosting our local manufacturers, but also looking in the region in the short term to be able to replace our transformers within one day if they do fail, but more importantly, to add to the number of transformers,” she said.

The company also intends to strengthen its response to equipment failures by increasing the number of technicians deployed on the ground, with a target of restoring electricity within 12 hours after an outage.

Vandalism compounds problem

Beyond infrastructure constraints, Rwabwogo identified vandalism and electricity theft as additional challenges undermining efforts to improve power reliability.

She said the theft of electricity cables and conductors had repeatedly disrupted supply, sometimes affecting entire communities.

“It’s not just an additional cost for UEDCL to come in and replace them in areas where it would otherwise be improving supply, but it also leaves large portions of our customers off,” she said.

The company is working with security agencies, police, community leaders and residents to combat vandalism and protect electricity infrastructure.

Rwabwogo said electricity theft also undermined the company’s ability to plan infrastructure investments because illegal connections distorted consumption data, making it difficult to establish the actual number of consumers using particular lines.

She warned that illegal connections could overload distribution lines, trigger faults and affect legitimate customers connected to the same network.

She added that revenue lost through electricity theft reduced the resources available for maintaining and upgrading the distribution network.

“The money that we collect as government goes back into refurbishing the network, replacing old assets and upgrading transformers,” she said.

Shs 3.7 trillion investment plan

To address the persistent challenges, UEDCL is implementing a five-year investment programme worth $994 million (about Shs 3.7 trillion), targeting network expansion, replacement of ageing equipment and additional capacity to support industrial growth.

Rwabwogo said immediate interventions were expected to address the most pressing challenges by the end of this year, while other infrastructure projects would take up to 18 months to complete.

She said the company hoped to stabilise the network as quickly as possible, although improvements would be realised progressively, depending on the areas covered by the works.

“These works should bring relief area by area. I won’t say it will be done in a week. We have a five-year plan, and that means we will continue to address the challenges, continue to target industry and provide additional capacity every year,” she said.

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