The Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) has engaged Judicial Officers and State Attorneys on the new Electricity Amendment Act 2022 particularly to sensitize stakeholders on clauses to deter vandalism of electricity infrastructure.
Eng. Ziria Tibalwa Waako the Chief Executive Officer of the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) while opening a sensitization seminar for judicial officers and state attorneys at Mestil Hotel Nsambya on Friday said, vandalism of the electricity infrastructure remains a challenge to the electricity supply industry.
“Despite investments, the Electricity Regulatory Authority and Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development continue to grapple with rampant cases of vandalism of power transmission and distribution infrastructure. This affects the cost of electricity and supply as a lot of money is spent on restoration, repairs and maintenance of the infrastructure,” she said.
Eng. Ziria added that Vandalism is economic sabotage, compromises the reliability, continuity and instability of the power supply sometimes compromises National Security, and it is a challenge that non-patriotic Ugandans go on to destroy the electricity infrastructure and deliberately sabotage the electricity access agenda that the Government embarked on to ensure electricity for all by 2030.
She was hopeful that engagements will enlighten stakeholders on the Do’s and Don’ts as well as areas for improving service delivery. She explained that at the time of unbundling (Separation of different components of electricity production and supply, viz. generation, transmission, distribution and retail supply or sale of electricity), three successor companies including Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited(UEGCL), Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) and Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) were created but government remained with the monopoly of the transmission segment. However, with the Amended Act, the transmission segment has also been opened to the private sector.
“With the new law, the private sector is now allowed to invest in the entire value chain i.e Generation, Transmission and Distribution, Government is attracting new private players in the sector,” she added.
On the same note, the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions (DDPP) George William Byansi welcomed the new electricity amendments saying it will ease their work.
He said oftentimes, the prosecution has investigated cases, and successfully prosecuted them in court but was let down by lighter sentences given to criminals.
“You struggle to investigate and you don’t get a good sentence and the criminal comes back to the community. This has been affecting us but we are happy with the new law and we believe it will make our prosecutions more effective,” the DDPP said.
Byansi stressed that his office wants those convicted of any crime to forfeit any of the assets that they might have acquired from thefts.
“There are businesses that have been acquired through crime. We want to go for that. We are happy with our new law because it makes our work easier”.
Her Worship Mary Kisakye Lukwago the Registrar of Research and Training at the Judicial Training Institute commended ERA for the training, saying it was timely and pledged to work together with the electricity regulator.
“With the new law, we expect to have a better electricity environment,” she said.
Kisakye further noted that judicial officers have been giving different sentences but with the new law, they will have to harmonize.
If proven guilty, one risks imprisonment for 10 years and a fine of Shs 1 billion or both on conviction of electricity-related cases including vandalism and power theft.
About the Law
The Electricity (Amendment) Act, 2022 (the Act) of Uganda was enacted into Law in May 2022 to amend certain provisions of the Electricity Act (the Principal Act) of 1999, given certain inconsistencies in the law in addition to administrative and structural bottlenecks in the industry.
Key highlights include:
– The Act commendably promotes gender equality by stating that one-third of the members of the Ministry must be women.
– The Authority is now charged with the responsibility of reviewing and approving the rates and charges of licensees and is no longer responsible for advising the Minister regarding the need to embark on electricity sector projects.
– The new Act is forward-looking in its provisions in that it prescribes that one of the functions of the Authority will be to prescribe standardized feed-in tariffs for renewable energy systems generating up to a maximum capacity of 50MW or any other capacity as determined by the Authority.
– The Minister is now vested with the responsibility of developing energy plans and policies for coal, renewable energy, and electricity.
– In the new Law, an invitation to license applications by the Authority will not be conducted without due consultations with the Minister, thus creating regulatory uncertainty in the sector.
– Licenses are to be classified according to the size and technology to be used or the market segment to be served by the licensee, thus allowing for tariff differentiation based on license class.
– By the Act, the System Operator is not obligated by statute to publish standardized tariffs based on avoided cost of the system for sales of renewable electricity up to a maximum capacity of 20 Watts.
– The Authority may now prescribe terms under which a licensee may supply the electricity in bulk to a holder of a distribution license, transmission license or to a specified class of customers.
– As a requirement for applying for a distribution licence, the licensee must include a net metering plan for all customer categories.
– The Amendment Act has notably increased the rate of fines and imprisonment and new offences that did not exist in the Principal Act have been created.
Although the Ugandan Electricity (Amendment) Act, 2022 is a welcome development, effective implementation will be key to realising the potential of the overall provisions of the Act.
Further policies, action plans and regulatory instruments should be developed to harness the potential of key areas within the Act such as renewable energy utilisation, net metering, feed-in tariffs, license classifications, etc.
