Uganda’s electric power distribution company UMEME has said December will be a ‘dark month’ due to power outages across the country.

According to management, the power outage is due to the announced repairs aiming at bettering services in a bid to serve the country better with reliable, safe and quality supply of electricity.
UMEME head of communication, Peter Kaujju, told our reporter that the maintenance has been ongoing since October, and that the one of next month will be a continuation.
He said several parts of the country will spend hours and some times days without power due to said maintenance.

Asked whether the maintenances would affect businesses, Kaujju said the disruptions are necessary for the greater good, and he appealed to the general public to bear with the situation which he said would be short-lived.
Government recently warned that intensified cases of vandalism of power facilities including lines by unknown people would lead to load shedding in various parts of the country.
In the past four or so months, the number of cases of vandalism of power lines all over the country have gone up with many of the lines vandalized for scrap.
However, security has intensified operations targeting vandals of power installations.

Earlier last year, a joint intelligence led security operation in the Country led to the arrest of five people and over 40 tones of angle lines used in erecting high voltage power lines which were later recovered.
Patrick Onyango, the Kampala metropolitan police spokesperson said the operations were conducted in the areas of social centres such as scrap yard villages where suspected electrical materials are stored and sold.
This comes after reports of constant vandalism of Umeme electrical materials, railway line rails and solar poles in different parts of the country.

Source: New Vision