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The substation will solve load, demand and power reliability challenges faced by Entebbe township
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Power distributor Umeme plans to install an additional substation in Entebbe municipality by December this year. This stems from the growing demand for power in the municipality and the need to provide reliable and stable power to key installations such as Entebbe International Airport and State House among others.
Umeme spokesperson Peter Kaujju told journalists on Tuesday that the available substation in Entebbe has an installed capacity of 20 megavolts. He however says that with the ongoing and upcoming developments such as the upgrade and expansion of the airport, construction of a convention centre and a transformer manufacturing plant among others, the municipality will need an additional substation to meet the future load.
He said that Umeme is investing about US$ 2 million to install another substation with the same capacity in Nakasamba village next to the Entebbe water treatment station. He explains that the project had stalled for two years because of land acquisition challenges in the municipality.
On Tuesday, NWSC handed over the piece of land measuring 63 decimals to Umeme to pave way for the construction of the project. The construction works will start immediately.
Emmanuel Mujuni, the manager technical services NWSC Entebbe branch, who handed over the site, said the project is timely because the corporation recently upgraded its systems with higher capacity and more efficient water pumps.
Charles Magumba, the town clerk Entebbe municipality noted that the area is sensitive, arguing that a power blackout has a significant impact on key installations. He pledged the total support of the municipality to all efforts to increase and stabilize the power supply in the area.
Dr. James Musinguzi, the Executive Director of Uganda Wildlife Education and Conservative Centre said the entity supports the project because it will support their operations.
Johnson Okochi, Umeme’s project investment manager said that Nakasamba substation will be indoor and only the transformers will be exposed as a way of minimizing environmental destruction.
Kaujju says Umeme has earmarked Shillings 813.2billion for investments in 2021. Shillings 442.4billion will go to capital investments including the Nakasamba substation and evacuation of Karuma hydropower plant.
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