Isimba dam shut down move to cause blackout

By Francis Lubega

17^th Aug 2022

The move by the government to shut down the Isimba hydropower plant will not only affect the electricity supply but also raise questions as to why rationing is even necessary.

Uganda’s power generation plants have the capacity to produce about 1,346 megawatts, according to the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA), as of December 2021, while the demand stands at about 800 megawatts.

This leaves a surplus (idle capacity) of 546 megawatts, the main generation plants being Nalubaale Power Station with 180 megawatts and Bujagali Power Dam with 250 megawatts, while Kiira Power Dam and Isimba have 200 and 180 megawatts respectively, of installed capacity.

The delayed Karuma power project was expected to add another 600 megawatts by June this year, to raise the wattage to 1,946 MW, but commissioning has again been extended.

There are more than 30 other smaller hydropower stations around the country, solar and thermal plants, as well as “cogeneration” plants by both government and private producers, which feed onto the national grid.

Therefore, when Isimba closes its 180-megawatt capacity, there is still a surplus capacity of 366 megawatts.

But according to the Minister for Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa, the government is going to purchase 20 megawatts from Kakira Sugar Works, and switch on the Namanve Thermal Power plant for 50 Megawatts, and import another 60 Megawatts from Kenya, as part of the emergency solutions. She however says that only areas served by Isimba will be affected.

In an August 16, 2022 press release, the Ministry of Energy indicated that the load-shedding would go on for three weeks.

Reports indicate that the dam was shut down following a “human error” in which an engineer from Uganda Electricity Generation Co. Ltd (UEGCL) opened the radial outflow instead of inflow gates at the dam, leading to flooding of key equipment.

The error will take a total of 5 billion shillings to rectify. Traders are counting losses because of the load-shedding.