HON. SIMON D'UJANGA
The Minister of State for Energy
 MOE: Projected power deficit threatens economy Industrialists have re-echoed concerns that current electricity supply cannot support business and that tough times lie ahead if government does not develop an immediate plan.So, what next as the country waits for the Karuma and Ayago power projects?State minister for Energy Simon D’Ujanga told Prosper magazine that government plans to revamp old lines and double the length of the current power grid as listed projects get underway.In giving context to this plan, the Uganda Electricity Transmissions Company Limited’s head of communications, Kenneth Otim, in an e-mail exchange noted that works on the plan are already ongoing.“The company has managed to rehabilitate the transmission lines (Mutundwe-Kabulasoke 132 Kilo Volt restringing), refurbished and expanded substations (17 sub-stations) as well as increased transformer capacity (all of them increasing the capacity from 10/15MVA to 30/40MVA),” he said. “This is to improve on the quality and reliability of power supply.” Read more ▪   World Bank to increase funding to Uganda The World Bank vice-president for Africa, Makhtar Diop, left Uganda with the kind of message Kampala would like to hear – financial assistance will be tripled in coming years.In particular, Diop said, support will go to infrastructure development, education and agriculture sectors. Diop together with Simon D’Ujanga, Uganda’s state minister for Energy, visited Bujagali hydro power station in Jinja, one of the initiatives supported by the World Bank.At Bujagali, Diop underscored the value of public-private partnerships (PPP) in financing infrastructure projects in Africa. Read more ▪ MPs considering sh140b energy sector loans The parliamentary committees on National Economy and that of Natural Resources began scrutinizing three loan requests meant for the energy sector as part of government’s concerted effort to make access to affordable electricity the flagship of the country’s economic blueprint – Vision 2040. Legislators on the two committees met a delegation from Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (UETCL), Rural Electrification Agency and Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development led by energy state minister, Simon D’Ujanga, over the specifics of the loans. Read more ▪ Over 50 global firms have applied to build and operate the first multi-million dollar oil refinery in Uganda’ Lake Albert basin.The high interest in the refinery underscores its profitability and a strategic investment project. It has also has also disapproved the critiques who claimed that the project could not attract global interests.Following the confirmation of commercial oil reserves, government’s intent has been to refine the oil resources in the country as per stated in the National Oil and Gas Policy for Uganda.Read more ▪ |