South Sudan asks Uganda for 100MW of power
Electricity. Power lines in Kampala. South Sudan has asked Uganda to urgently consider supplying it with at least 100MW of electricity to boost its trade and industrialisation. PHOTO / EDGAR R. BATTE
What you need to know:
- Uganda’s State Minister for Energy Okasaai Opolot directed the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (UETCL) to consider the deal and tap into South Sudan’s huge energy gap
South Sudan has asked Uganda to urgently consider supplying it with at least 100MW of electricity to boost its trade and industrialisation.
Uganda’s State Minister for Energy Okasaai Opolot directed the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (UETCL) to consider the deal and tap into South Sudan’s huge energy gap.
Mr Okasaai was speaking at the commissioning of the 83MW Agago-Gulu transmission line and its associated sub-stations at Angagura Town Council in Pader District.
“I [have just] returned from a trip to South Sudan and we need to construct a line from Olwiyo [in Nwoya District] to Juba. It is a priority line because our brothers and sisters in South Sudan do not have electricity and their only hopes are in us,” Mr Okasaai said.
“They immediately want 100MW. Theirs is a big market for our surplus electricity and we have got to see how to close that gap soon,” he added.
Mr Okasaai said, “We have a vision not only to have transmission lines within the country but also looking at the Power Pool Market to trade out excess power that we generate.”
Uganda now boasts a generation capacity of slightly more than 2,000MW from 380MW in 2005, with more transmission projects under construction to deliver reliable power to different parts of the country, which are to be completed between 2024 and 2026.
Mr Okasaai, who encouraged the leaders to champion local consumption by setting up enterprises that can utilise the available power, said the government has embarked on free electricity connections to boost domestic consumption.
“We know many of our people cannot afford to pay Shs720,000 for free connections. We came up with a policy for free connections, and we are targeting domestic users, industrial, mines, and institutions. The World Bank has provided us with $638 million to connect one million households for free for the next five years,” he said.
The Monitor has established that Uganda recently received a Euros 24.5m grant from the European Union to implement the gate access mini-grid projects targeting areas of Palorinya (West Nile), Wakiso, Buvuma East and Buvuma West and Lake Albert shores.
Mr Joshua Karamagi, the UETCL chief executive officer, said the completion and commissioning of the 83km Gulu-Agago 132/33kV transmission line and associated sub-stations project marks a crucial step to meet the growing energy demands of the country while embracing environmentally-conscious practices.
The main objective of the project is to evacuate the Achwa Hydro Power Plant, which is a strategic transmission line part of the power corridor intended to extend power to the West Nile Sub-region through the Gulu - Olwiyo – Nebbi – Arua transmission line.
Mr Karamagi said the Achwa - Gulu- Agago 132kV transmission line project construction work was completed after 18 months when it was energized on November 18, 2023.
