Umeme's capital expansion project-a success story

Umeme has invested $ 19.4 Million up till the end of 2008 in improving the distribution network throughout Uganda.

Under the four year countrywide system rehabilitation project which started as early as the last part of 2005, Umeme is currently replacing rotten poles and worn out conductors, fixing bad workmanship on overhead structures and  strengthening networks through the introduction of additional distribution transformers.   We have also upgraded power system capacity by increasing power transformer sizes in many of our substations, while also paying attention to safety and housekeeping issues at various substations.  We embarked on a program to provide fences for all ground mounted equipment to ensure public safety.  This project will ultimately address the much needed system improvement and rehabilitation of the power distribution infrastructure. The subsequent benefits of this private sector intervention to the customers and Umeme are immense as highlighted below:

BENEFITS TO CUSTOMERS

The extensive capital investment program will benefit the customers in the following ways:

• Safer networks


• Voltages that will support the normal utilization of electrical devices


• More reliable supply as a result of the introduction of more switching points that will speed up fault detection


• Visually neater installations

Less disruption of electricity supply due to vandalism

BENEFITS TO UMEME

The project benefits Umeme in the following ways:

• Improved customer satisfaction


• Safe networks to customers


• Decrease in technical losses and thus an increase in energy available for its customers


• Decrease in non technical losses


• An effective limitation to vandalism to the power  networks

The country stands to benefit from this investment which will go a long way to stabilize the power distribution network, most of which has been in a state of disrepair. Tremendous work has already been undertaken to revamp the power distribution network as indicated here below:

• Umeme has installed the following transformers  on the  network

Transformers used on new Commercial Schemes             207
Transformers used on System Strengthening                    276
Transformers replaced by Operations and Maintenance   1215
 

• Umeme has installed the following poles on the network

Poles used on new commercial schemes                            3 787
Poles used on Pole Services                                               13 679
Poles used on System Strengthening                                  17 933
Poles replaced by Operations and Maintenance                 34 922

The above figures show that Umeme has now replaced in excess of 50 000 of the 120 000 rotten poles identified during an intensive network audit program.  The plan is to complete the replacement of rotten poles by the end of 2012.  
 

• Umeme has implemented two new substations, namely Kitante substation and Kaliro Substation, while also upgrading expensive switchgear at various sites.


• We have also upgraded 10 interconnectors between substations to reduce technical losses.