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Govt seeks to make theft of electricity very costly
A person who taps service wires, tampers, damages or destroys an electricity metre to interfere with accurate metering, commits an offence, and is liable, on conviction, to a fine or imprisonment not exceeding 10 years. Photo| File
What you need to know:
- The Natural Resources Committee chairman says they want to make it very expensive for anyone involved in theft of electricity and electrical equipment.
The Parliamentary Natural Resources Committee has said they are seeking to make theft of electrical energy and vandalism of electrical equipment a very expensive affair to deter the vice that continues to cause huge losses for both government and consumers.
While responding to Daily Monitor inquiries on the progress of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022, Mr Emmanuel Otiam Otaala, the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, said they had finalised deliberations in the Bill and were now writing the report.
The Bill proposes to increase funding to Electricity Regulatory Authority from 0.3 percent to 0.7 percent of sector generated revenue, stagger electricity transmission to omit one bulky purchaser and provide punishments for theft of electricity and vandalism of electrical equipment.
Mr Otaala said that whereas most of the proposals in the Bill are important, the Committee had taken serious interest in deterring theft of electricity and vandalism of electrical equipment that has wider implications.
“We want to make the penalty [for theft of electricity and vandalism of electrical equipment] tough. We want to make it like a billion [shillings] or 50,000 currency points. When people cut down electric towers, it creates so much destruction, which results into new costs for government. Like in the case of the Lira-Kamdini line, out of a total length of 60 kilometres, 23 kilometres have been vandalised. You find that government is spending double on making transmission lines. So, we must make it really very expensive for those doing it,” he said.
Under the current law, penalties, according to government, are not deterrent enough to discourage theft of electrical energy and vandalism of electrical equipment.
“These criminal acts have consistently increased the cost of operation and maintenance of electricity infrastructure as well as the commercial losses experienced by electricity distribution companies,” the Bill reads in part, noting that the amendments should provide for deterrent punishment for vandalism of electrical facilities and theft of electrical energy.
Under the amendments, the Bill proposes that any person who taps cables or service wires, tampers, damages or destroys an electricity metre with the intention of interfering with the accurate metering of electricity, commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine or imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or both.
The offender shall also be required, in addition to the above punishment, be required to pay 10 times the cost of consumed electricity if it is below 10 kilowatts or pay 20 times the cost if the consumed electricity exceeds 10 kilowatts.
DON'T MISS: Umeme loses Shs98b to power theft
The Bill also proposes that a person who cuts any electric supply line, material, meter or public lamp, stores electric material or public lamp, moves from one place to another any electric material, connects and reconnects or disconnects any electrical material without authorisation commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine or imprisonment of 12 year or both.
The Bill further proposes that a person who receives stolen electric equipment commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine or imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or both.
Cost of electricity theft and vandalism
In details contained in the Auditor General’s report for the period ended June 2021, it was reported that UETCL had grown increasingly concerned over the widespread vandalism and theft of electricity equipment thus erecting to pilot a security system, which was, however vandalised.
The report also noted that UETCL, during the period ended June 2021, had spent Shs1.6b to replace and repair vandalised equipment with at least Shs500m used to purchase galvanised angle bars to “replace vandalised tower members”.
UETCL also reported that it had at least spent Shs1.5b to replace costs for assorted transmission line items vandalised between 2017 and 2021.
On its part, while conducting briefing of security personnel in Mbarara City recently.
Mr Selestino Babungi, the Umeme managing director, said in 2021 alone, the electricity subsector had lost more than Shs26b in stolen copper wires, vandalised transformers and poles, among others.
