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West Nile power shortage brings business to standstill
Part of Ewuata power plant in Arua District which supplies electricity to West Nile region . PHOTO by Felix Okello Warrom
What you need to know:
Work on Nyagak hydropower dam in Zombo District, which is expected to solve the power shortage problem, has stalled.
Arua
West Nile region has continued to face a severe shortage of power supply after a breakdown at the main power plant at Ewuata in Arua District.
The sole supplier, West Nile Rural Electrification Company (Wenreco), that signed a 25 year concession contract with the government, has shut down its plant for three weeks now.
This has greatly crippled the region and affected hospitals. On Monday, the Wenreco Manager, Mr Frank Becker, said the breakdown of the generator was caused by the high load. “We have increasing demand which the existing generator cannot manage.
We are looking at another bigger generator to improve power supply. Interruptions affect both management and consumers,” he said. Three weeks ago, the Minister for Energy, Ms Irene Muloni, said: “People here need to be patient a bit because technical work on Nyagak (hydropower project) should be done thoroughly.”
Due to the shortage of power, business has been paralysed.
Production in small scale industries and businesses in the region had drastically decreased and many of them have been forced to lay off employees.
Business paralysed
Spinning mills, radio stations, metal fabricators, hotel and lodge owners and hospitals in the region are operating at less than half their capacity.
Storage of perishables has been undermined by the power cuts, causing severe financial losses for businesses and households. Ms Joyce Adania, a power consumer says she is not able to repay her loan because her juice processing business is shut down.
The region with a population of 2,813,800 is not connected to the national grid. Construction of Nyagak hydropower dam in Zombo District started in 2006 and its work was expected to have only taken one year but since then it has dragged on. The dam is expected to generate 3.5 megawatts.
