The power distribution company UMEME LTD calls legislators to help in sensitization of their constituents on the dangers of illegal hooking of electricity.
Speaking at the function where financial results of the company were released, the chief operations officer of UMEME LIMITED Florence Nsubuga said that although the company has carried out sensitization campaigns against the practice, the number of fatal accidents resulting from interference with the electricity distribution network is on increase.
She noted that only last year 39 deaths were reported as related to illegal hooking on the network.
Power theft, vandalism in house wiring, electrified washing lines and illegal activities along electricity,Way leaves corridors.
However the company reports a reduction in the operation cost per customer over the last 7 years by 30%.
UMEME’s managing director Selestino Babungi noted that the operating cost per customer was reduced to 174,665 shillings in 2018 compared to 177,092 in 2017.
Babungi said that this achievement was a result of modern of use of technology, roll-out of pre-paid metering, increase in customer connections and efficiency in business operations.
The company has also reported a reduction in power loses from 17.2% in 2017 to 16.6% in 2018, attributing this to investment in pre paid meter reading and technology like procuring more transformers.
The company also announced that the number of households connected to the grid increased by 14.8% due to the government‘s electricity connection policy which allows free connections to households and business located sixty meters from an electric pole.He reveled that the company now has over 1.3 million customers over the last 13 years from when it took over from Uganda electricity Distribution Company.
Last year government launched a new electricity connection policy as part of the efforts to increase electricity access across the country. The objective of the free connection policy was to increase the number of connections from about 70,000 to 300,000 annually.
But UMEME says that over the 7 year period to 2018, it exceeded the regulatory customer base target by 0.3 million customers.
Babungi said that government was very eager to extend the concession which will expire in 2025.
"We told government that it is both in the interest and the public that since we have delivered on our mandate, the concession can be discussed and extended. " Babungi noted.
Mr Babungi further noted that if their contract is extended, the company will be able to mobilize and deploy long term capital that is necessary to expand the distribution grid and increase uptake of the new generation capacity and support the Government agenda on grid connections and economic growth.