Ntungamo villages get power hope as government reinstalls long-idle transformers

The Ministry of Energy, through Uganda’s power distributor, has restored long-idle electricity lines in Ntungamo District after installing 12 new transformers, bringing hope to communities that have spent nearly a decade waiting for power despite having lines running over their homes.

Commissioning the restored lines at Mujwa Primary School on Monday, Eng. Abdon Atwine, the ministry’s commissioner for rural electrification, said the intervention marks a major step in unlocking stalled distribution infrastructure.

“These are areas where lines were vandalized. We have now provided 12 transformers to start operating. We hope the residents will effectively use the electricity,” Eng. Atwine said.

“We currently have only 24% of Ugandans accessing the main grid and at least 30% getting electricity through other means. We intend to have this main grid coverage reach 80% by 2040. This we can’t achieve when we have lines that are not operational over small issues,” the engineer added.

He also said that at least one million Ugandans will access free household connections within two years under a $630 million grant aimed at expanding access.

“In the next two years, we are going to connect at least one million households to electricity for free, following the order of applications. We have secured a $630M grant for this project, and we hope it will boost connectivity. We also intend to extend more lines,” he said.

Berinda Murungi, UEDCL’s Ntungamo District manager, said the district has 153 transformers spread across 800km of lines, yet more than 70% of the area still lacks electricity.

Edward Natamba, a resident of Mpaama Village, said communities have endured years of frustration while waiting for connections.

“We have, for the past nine years, seen wires passing through our village with no power. People installed technical wiring in their houses in 2017 with hopes of power. Some were given certificates, but no one was connected,” he said.

He added, “How can government spend a full nine years without repairing such lines? We are now happy that this project has been launched, but we still have doubts about whether we shall receive power.”

Former Ntungamo Woman MP Beatrice Rwakimari called the launch a “big relief” for residents who had lost hope in the stalled project, while Resident District Commissioner Mirriam Kagaiga urged communities to protect the lines from vandals so that the revived network can function as intended.