Uganda has been forced to switch off power supply on the Karuma-Kawanda transmission line after reactors that control electricity voltage at three substations were vandalised.
The absence of the reactors risks the safety of the equipment and personnel at the Kawanda, Olwiyo and Lira substations due to uncontrolled voltages.
“That line is off, the towers are down due to vandalism and now those reactors have been rendered redundant because the line is not energised. The reactors are not available to help us with the voltage control. So, the voltages are so high,” a source at the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company (UETC) told the Daily Monitor.
Read: Power outage in Uganda blamed on ‘human error’
The utility firm says intermittent transmission has affected its distribution operation in northern Uganda.
“We have experienced breakdowns and damages to our systems due to the uncontrolled voltage termination at Olwiyo substation and subsequently caused sporadic blackouts in the Adjumani and Pakwach areas that we supply from Olwiyo,” the UETC spokesperson Jonan Kiiza said in an interview.
The power distributor was hit by a wave of vandalism in November targeting pylon, conductors, and transmission network made of steel and aluminium.
The Energy ministry says it requires about Ush370 billion ($99 million) to replace the vandalised equipment.
Source: The East African
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