New Ugandan power supply will feed extra cement capacity

As new cement factories start-up in Tororo, power distributor Umeme is making investments in anticipation of the projected increase in power demand. The existing nearby substations of Tororo Rock, Nagongera and Mbale are currently unable to take on the expected load, hence the need for a new substation. 



Umeme, therefore, has spent up to UGX14bn (US$3.88m) setting up a new substation at Nyakesi, an investment that is tipped to boost industrialisation in the area through reliable power supply.

Civil works at the project that was contracted to Global Network Ltd are currently estimated to be 81 per cent complete. It is expected to be finished by the end of next month. The capacity works include installation of two transformers of 20MVA each, seven switch gears of 33KV and five switch gears of 11KV. 



National Cement, Simba and Hima Cement are expected to start new cement production capacity this year. Both the Hima and Simba factories have a total projected power demand of 20MW with respective demand of 12MW and 8MW.

Meanwhile, Tororo Cement Industries (TCI) has also expanded and increased its production capacity from 1.8-3Mta. With Tororo Cement increasing its production capacity, Umeme has also invested US$455,000 to iserve ts biggest domestic customer with an additional 10MW. The works include construction of a 6.8km double socket concrete pole to guarantee reliable and stable supply.

"We have been having challenges of unstable power supply. Cement manufacturing is a continuous process and as such, we need stable power supply," Brij Gagrani, Tororo Cement executive director said.