Electricity Act 1999 should be amended to curb power theft
Monday April 12 2021
Summary
The Act does not provide stringent punishments to culprits of power theft or vandalism to equipment from the network, despite the huge losses the habits cause to the company and the country at large.
Advertisement
On Friday April 9, Daily Monitor reported that power distributor Umeme lost Shs98b to power theft in Jinja Sub-region between January and March and that such loss is greatly attributed to the outdated Electricity Act 1999.
As much as the Judiciary created a Utilities, Standards and Wildlife Court to prosecute culprits involved in stealing of utilities such as power, the Electricity Act prescribes very weak punishment for culprits.
Daily Monitor
Friday April 09 2021
Summary
According to the demarcation of Umeme service centres, Jinja Sub-region, which also includes Lugazi and Kayunga, is under Kampala East region.
Advertisement
Power distributor Umeme says it has lost Shs8b in Jinja Sub-region, between January and March.
According to the demarcation of Umeme service centres, Jinja Sub-region, which also includes Lugazi and Kayunga, is under Kampala East region.
While speaking to Daily Monitor yesterday, Mr John Baptist Nuwamanya, the metering sales manager, said during the same period, the country lost 191 million units or about 18 per cent of all the energy Umeme procures from Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL), which translates into a loss of Shs97.7 billion.