The government has shut down the operations of the 183MW Isimba hydropower dam in Kayunga district for three weeks.
Ruth Nankabirwa the Minster for Energy and Mineral development revealed to the general public that the plant was shut down on August 8th, 2022 following operational challenges that led to the flow of water into the power house.
Mrs Nankabirwa said, “The shut was a safety measure to secure safety of staff and protection of the electro-mechanical equipment.”
The operator, Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL) is undertaking appropriate measures to restore power production at Isimba hydropower plant and we expect generation to resume within three weeks.
The minister also revealed that the UEGCL is undertaking alternative measures to ensure continuity of electricity supply that include the importation of approximately 60 megawatts of power from neighboring Kenya.
The transmission company will also dispatch up to 50 megawatts of power from Namanve ThermaPower plant; dispatch 20 megawatts from the Kakira Power Plant and optimization of the generation capacity of the available power plant across the country.
The ministry has dismissed proposals for non-emergency outage permits, and implementation of load shedding to balance power demand and supply to ensure the grid stability is achieved and sustained.
Mr. Nankabirwa has reassured the general public that the sector is working to ensure the situation is normalized as soon as possible.
Isimab Hydroelectric Power Station is a 183.2 megawatts station commissioned. The plant was commissioned on 21 March 2019, its construction started in 2015 and completed in 2019.
