{"id":4679,"date":"2021-11-29T15:37:35","date_gmt":"2021-11-29T15:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ugandaupdatenews.com\/?p=4679"},"modified":"2021-11-29T15:37:40","modified_gmt":"2021-11-29T15:37:40","slug":"power-blackout-in-kampala-is-due-to-vandalism-of-high-voltage-electricity-lines-in-areas-of-mukono-says-state-minister-okaasai-opolot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/power-blackout-in-kampala-is-due-to-vandalism-of-high-voltage-electricity-lines-in-areas-of-mukono-says-state-minister-okaasai-opolot\/","title":{"rendered":"POWER BLACKOUT IN KAMPALA IS DUE TO VANDALISM OF HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRICITY LINES IN AREAS OF MUKONO SAYS STATE MINISTER OKAASAI OPOLOT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>B<strong>y Our Reporters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>in Munyonyo<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hardly two days after the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa decried the rampant vandalism of evacuation power lines and expensive towers across the country \u00a0\u2013 the vandals struck again -this time near the capital Kampala- in Mukono and brought down two high voltage electricity transmission lines causing a prolonged blackout in Kampala today morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The State Minister for Energy ,Hon. Sidronius Okaasai Opolot told the nation- while opening the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) Mission To Uganda at Speke Resort Munyonyo that one suspected vandal was electrocuted when the 132 KV power line fell on him and other suspects are on the run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Minister said security agencies have since mounted a manhunt for the suspects whom he said are involved in acts of \u201cterrorism and economic sabotage.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Flanked by the Under Secretary and Accounting Officer at the Energy Ministry , Mr. Emmanuel Freddie Mugunga-Minister \u00a0Okaasai said that the power lines which were cut down caused the black out in and around Kampala and added that  the affected areas will experience load shedding for at least three days as the Ministry of Energy technical teams work around the clock to restore and  stabilize power supply .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;He said that the Ministry officials would also make a statement about the increased cases of vandalism of&nbsp; electricity equipment on the floor of parliament .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last week while briefing the media about the notorious problem of power lines vandalism in Uganda , Energy Minister Nankabirwa decried the vice and said the cost of replacement of vandalised \u2013high-voltage -electricity materials and gadgets is huge and unsustainable.<br><br>\u201cIn the last two years alone, the government has lost over $2 billion to the vandalism of electricity infrastructure. We have to deal with this vice the way we deal with terrorism. Vandalism continues to cost the sector billions of shillings. We have requested for the services of the UPDF to guard key electricity infrastructure such as transmission towers and substations,\u201d said Nankabirwa.<br><br>Despite huge investments in the sector, the minister explained that Uganda continues to grapple with rampant cases of vandalism of power transmission and distribution infrastructure and urged the &nbsp;public to be vigilant and report those responsible the nearest police station and sister security agencies.<br><br>Nankabirwa explained that by cutting down electricity supply network it leads to wanton- power blackouts, threatens &nbsp;national security &nbsp;and&nbsp; homes; increases the cost of doing business and electricity tariffs, and disrupts vital health and education services as well as people\u2019s livelihoods.<br><br><br>Both Nankabirwa and Okaasai have assured the country that a security national committee is going to be set up and it will include RDCs to find a lasting solution to the problem of power lines vandalism. One electricity tower costs in the excess of 20,000 USDs and if not stemed the economic loss to the country runs in billions of shillings .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Our Reporters in Munyonyo Hardly two days after the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa decried the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[87,65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","category-national-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG-20211129-WA0086.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6346,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/tough-law-enacted-to-deal-electricity-infrustructure-vandalism-minister-okaasai\/","url_meta":{"origin":4679,"position":0},"title":"TOUGH LAW ENACTED TO DEAL WITH ELECTRICITY INFRUSTRUCTURE VANDALISM-MINISTER OKAASAI","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"August 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Private Solar Power generating individuals, companies allowed to sell power to the national grid The Energy and Minerals week 2022 is on BY ZURAH NAKABUGO The Minister of State for Energy Sidronius Opolot Okaasai has warned the public against vandalizing the country\u2019s electricity infrastructure noting that offenders will face tough\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/ok-scaled.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/ok-scaled.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/ok-scaled.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/ok-scaled.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/ok-scaled.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8666,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/energy-ministry-government-to-extend-electricity-in-34-districts\/","url_meta":{"origin":4679,"position":1},"title":"Energy Ministry :Government to extend electricity in 34 districts","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"April 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Our Parliamentary Reporters The government through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development is to extend electricity to over 34 districts in the next financial year officials led by State Minister for Energy Mr. Sidronius Okaasai Opolot have stated . They were appearing before the Parliament's Committee on Environment\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Energy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Energy","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/energy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4037,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/energy-minister-commissions-rural-electrification-project-in-luuka-and-moroto-districts\/","url_meta":{"origin":4679,"position":2},"title":"Energy Minister commissions Rural Electrification Project in Luuka and Moroto districts","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"September 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"By Sierra Ruth Arinaitwe The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) Hon. Ruth Nankabirwa has officially commissioned the Uganda Rural Electrification Access project (UREAP) in Luuka and Moroto districts. This was during a ministerial visit to eastern and north eastern Uganda for the electricity supply industry tour on which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Energy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Energy","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/energy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/ruth.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/ruth.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/ruth.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/ruth.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/ruth.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6847,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/greater-horn-of-africa-energy-leaders-push-for-universal-access-to-electricity\/","url_meta":{"origin":4679,"position":3},"title":"Greater Horn of Africa Energy Leaders Push for Universal Access to Electricity as International Energy Agency releases growth potential report","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"October 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Dominc Ochola Energy sector leaders have rallied governments in the Greater Horn of African region to create a conducive investment environment for universal access to electricity to spur economic development. Their call follows a report published by the International Energy Agency \u2013 IEA, a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Energy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Energy","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/energy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/op.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/op.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/op.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/op.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4689,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/uganda-to-employ-participatory-approach-to-nuclear-power-development-minister-okaasi-opolot\/","url_meta":{"origin":4679,"position":4},"title":"UGANDA TO EMPLOY PARTICIPATORY APPROACH TO NUCLEAR POWER DEVELOPMENT- MINISTER OKAASI OPOLOT","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"November 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"By Our Senior Correspondent Uganda will employ a participatory approach to its national nuclear power programme to gain stakeholders\u2019 acceptance and also make use of the existing expertise within government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in a concerted effort to allay the citizens fears about the potential dangers portending to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Energy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Energy","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/energy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG-20211129-WA0086-1.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG-20211129-WA0086-1.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG-20211129-WA0086-1.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG-20211129-WA0086-1.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IMG-20211129-WA0086-1.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7235,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/energy-ministry-to-ensure-reliable-supply-of-electricity-for-e-mobility-sector\/","url_meta":{"origin":4679,"position":5},"title":"Energy Ministry to ensure reliable supply of \u00a0electricity for E-mobility sector","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"November 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Sierra Ruth Arinaitwe The Minister of State for Energy Hon. Okaasai Opolot has assured companies in the E-mobility sector of reliable supply of electricity to support charging infrastructure- to enhance Uganda\u2019s transition to electric mobility. E- mobility in Uganda is being championed by companies such as Kiira Motors Corporation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;E-mobility&quot;","block_context":{"text":"E-mobility","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/e-mobility\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/oka-scaled.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/oka-scaled.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/oka-scaled.jpg 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0aOV-1dt","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4679"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4681,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4679\/revisions\/4681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}