How River Nile is powering 10 nations
Robert Okullo, 25, has been operating a video library and a photo studio in Arua town for the last five years. His business solely depends on power. But the unremitting power blackouts Arua experienced in the last and early months of 2016 and 2017 respectively hit his business hard.
“I cannot work without power. The power supply here is always erratic, and my business has been suffering,” he said.
The long dry spells that hit parts of Uganda between November 2016 and April 2017 left River Nyagaki, the source of water for the 3.5MW hydropower plant, virtually dry. The plant is the only source of power for five districts in West Nile region, including Arua, which are not connected to the national electricity grid.
The plant’s generation capacity started falling last November, and the West Nile Rural Electrification Company Limited (WENRECO), a firm that operates the facility, responded by load shedding parts of the region.
