As the power crisis continues in the country, the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) says there is going to be no load shedding during day time; instead this will occur during night hours when people are sleeping.

According to ERA acting chief executive officer Benon Mutambi, this development was reached  after discovering that load shedding during day time affects the economy harshly than it does at night when majority people are sleeping.

Electric power connection

Mutambi attributed the crisis in the power sector to increase in fuel prices and the weakening Ugandan shilling against a dollar.

According to Mutambi, all contracts signed with thermo power generators are denominated in dollars for fear by investors to lose their money arising from the depreciating shilling.

Addressing a press conference in Kampala, Mutambi says since 2009, the shilling has depreciated by over 600 shillings from 1874 shillings to one US dollar, leading to an increase in the sector revenue requirement which he says has increased by 192 billion shillings in the past 18 months.

He said that despite those challenges, the power tariffs have not been adjusted upwards to absorb the effects of the falling shilling and high fuel costs.

Mutambi said that while in 2006 the sector required only 420 billion shillings, it shot up to 618 billion shillings in last year whereas this year (2011) it has soured to at 1.076 trillion shillings.

By Isaac Senabulya