ERA Partners with Police to Crackdown Vandals of Electricity Infrastructure

Power Regulator, the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) in partnership with the Uganda Police Force have launched a training programme for CID Police officers and regional district security committees to address the rampant vandalism of electricity infrastructure and power theft in the country.

The training comes just months after President Museveni assented to the Electricity (Amendment) Act 2022 to among others provide stringent penalties to vandals of electricity infrastructure.

The electricity sector suffers a huge challenge of vandalism of electricity infrastructure and power theft by the unscrupulous people.

On November 13, 2022, two 132kV transmission lines from the Jinja-based 180MW Nalubale and 200MW Kira Hydropower Plants were vandalised, leading to extensive power blackouts in Central and Western Uganda.

The 132kV Owen Falls-Lugogo Transmission Line was vandalised at Kivuvu village in Mukono district, leading to four towers falling on the ground.

Subsequently, the Owen Falls-Mukono North-Mulago Transmission Line was also vandalised at Nasuuti village in Mukono district, leading to one tower falling on the ground the following day.

The vandalism of the electricity infrastructure is on the rise. The scale and scope of the vice have intensified into a systematic and well-coordinated organised crime syndicate which has caused adverse effects on completed lines and ongoing projects.

The rampant vandalism of electricity infrastructure remains a major impediment to delivering quality and reliable power supply, especially to critical sectors such as Health and Manufacturing.

The ERA CEO, Eng Ziria Tibalwa Waako addressing the delegation from the Uganda Police Force and sector players during the launch of the training program at ERA Head Office in Kampala on Tuesday.

It equally increases power project development costs, frustrates efforts to expand the Grid and accelerate access to electricity services for all Ugandans, and has overall effects on the Economy.

Over 2 billion shillings is spent annually to replace vandalised power lines, on average.

Replacing the five newly vandalised transmission towers will cost Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) over 1 billion shillings (over 200 million shillings each).

The regulator (ERA) has always found difficult time to end the vice due to lenient penalities allocated to the culprits as contained in the Electricity (Amendment) Act 1999 before it’s amendment in May this year.

“Someone has vandalised a tower, and you charge him 40,000 [shillings]. It was like just encouraging [more vandalism],” said ERA CEO, Eng Ziria Tibalwa Waako.

To address the vice, the sector players embarked on the journey to amend the Act to provide for more stringent penalties.

On May 15, 2022, President Museveni assented to the Electricity Amendment Bill, which led to the amendment of the Electricity Act number 4.

The new law introduced stringent penalties to culprits of power theft, and vandals of electricity infrastructure such as the wires (lines), towers, transformers, circuit breakers, protection devices, meters among others

Through the Electricity (Amendment) Act 2022, security agencies are tasked to investigate, arrest, and prosecute vandals before the courts of law.

In the new law, Government has placed more stringent penalties for vandalism-related offences. The law prescribes a 12-year jail sentence, or a fine of 50,000 Currency Points (Ush. 1 billion) or both for a vandal or anyone who receives vandalised electricity materials, and 15 years of imprisonment or 100,000 Currency Points (Ush. 2 billion) or both for repeated violations.

Speaking at the launch of the training programme for CID officers and Regional District security committees to address the vice in Kampala on Tuesday, Eng. Waako said, “we seek to partner with Uganda Police Force to address these challenges together because the loss to the electricity sub sector, and the loss to the country by power theft and vandalism is enormous.”

“You see someone cutting the base of a tower, winds come, and the tower collapses. And the tower does not collapse a lone because up, it has the wires. So, as it sinks, it sinks with other towers. We look at this as economic sabotage,” she added.

Eng Waako said they seek to train and sensitize, and learn from District Security Committees and detectives across the country on the provisions related to the vandalism of electricity infrastructure under the new law.

The Director of Criminal Investigations in the Uganda Police Force, Maj Tom Magambo attending the launch of the training programme at ERA Head Office in Kampala on Tuesday.

During the training, security personnel will learn about the clauses in the new law (Electricity Amendment Act 2022) related to vandalism of electricity infrastructure.

The training will target Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), District Internal Security Officers, Regional Police Commanders (RPCs), District Police Commanders (DPCs), officers in criminal investigations, police officers and detectives, local leaders among others.

The Director of Criminal Investigations in the Uganda Police Force, Maj Tom Magambo challenged ERA to embrace the use of technology to monitor the electricity infrastructure.

A delegation from the Uganda Police Force meeting with ERA officials and other electricity sector players during the launch of the training programme at ERA Head Office in Kampala on Tuesday.

“I am told you had some technology some time put on these lines to trace [vandals], but I am told they were also stolen. I don’t know whether they were stolen by the peasants or your IT experts. With such a huge investment, if we really embrace technology to monitor them, we should be able to be alerted.

But if you just rely on the security person to alert you, without the support of technology, this is going to be hard,” Magambo said.

“So, in our conversation of the way forward, I will be happy for us to have a conversation on use technology on the protection of these very strategic investments,” he added.

The post ERA Partners with Police to Crackdown Vandals of Electricity Infrastructure first appeared on ChimpReports.