UMEME’s Jinja area manager, Paul Ssempira however says that despite their efforts to sensitize communities on the dangers involved in power thefts, the vice tends to thrive, which has since compromised the power supply chain to the legally connected consumers.
UMEME officials within Jinja area have raised a red flag
over the increasing loses accrued from power thefts.
Their Jinja area comprises of Njeru municipality, Kayunga
district, Jinja city, Jinja district and Magamaga town council.
Officials
say that due to continuous power thefts, they lose 4.1 gigawatt hours per
month, which is valued at 2 billion Shillings.
UMEME’s Jinja area manager, Paul Ssempira says that they
serve 24 million units to 43,496 domestic customers and 204 large scale industries.
Ssempira however says that despite their efforts to
sensitize communities on the dangers involved in power thefts, the vice tends to
thrive, which has since compromised the power supply chain to the legally connected consumers.
While addressing journalists in Jinja city on Friday, UMEME’s Kampala East
regional operations manager, Rose Oyella says that, several short circuit
related deaths are never reported by the relatives of the deceased for fear of reprimand however, available
statistics indicate that, eight children have lost their lives due to illegal
power connections in the past 16 years.
Oyella notes that they plan to organize community sensitization drives aimed at sensitizing communities and local leaders alike on the dangers of illegal power
connections and how best they can embrace rightful procedures in procuring legal
power connections within their homesteads.
//cue in: “in Jinja, we…
Cue out…door to door,”.//
Meanwhile Jinja’s resident city commissioner, Kyeyune Ssenyonjo
says that UMEME personnel should amicably engage with grass root security
committees, so as to avoid chaotic scenes, resulting from resistance by
some elements within the communities during implementation of their operations
against power thefts.
