Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) says vandalism of a pylon on the Mukono line has left the utility unable to supply at least four million units of electricity.
This, the utility says, has created a significant distribution setback and affecting customers who rely on the route for stable power.
UEDCL Managing Director Paul Mwesigwa said the damaged pylon triggered a blackout that has now entered its fourth day and could last up to six days before full restoration.
He said the area normally consumes about 16 million units per month, meaning the outage has already wiped out a quarter of expected sales.
“We sell about 16 million units monthly in the area, and being off for six days means we have lost about four million units,” Mwesigwa said during a joint briefing with affected manufacturers and officials from UETCL and UEDCL.
The destruction of the tower knocked out supply to more than 128,000 customers, including between 200 and 300 factories along the Mukono and Eastern Kampala industrial corridor.
Mwesigwa said UEDCL, which ordinarily receives 157 megawatts through the affected line, is operating on just 15 megawatts from an emergency feed.
“We are experiencing a shortage of over 90 percent of the energy required to serve our customers,” Mwesigwa said, adding that full supply is expected to return by Tuesday.
Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) Chief Executive Officer Richard Matsiko said engineers were rebuilding the damaged pylon and stabilising the line.
“We have mobilised adequate resources, and supply is expected to be restored by early next week,” Matsiko said.
UETCL officials reported disruptions at three substations, cutting supply to major industrial plants including Tian Tang, Kampala Cement, Quality Plastics, Landy Industries, Abacus Parenteral Drugs, the Katosi Water Project, Mpoma, Mbalala and Tembo Steels.
Authorities also confirmed that one of the vandals sustained fatal injuries during the incident, a matter handled by the appropriate teams.
Factories say losses are rising sharply.
Sam Mukisa, human resource manager at Landy Industries Limited, said the plant cannot run heavy machinery on generators and daily wage workers have been sent home.
At Tembo Steels, Gavran Dwivedi urged government to strengthen security around transmission corridors to avert repeat incidents.
The outage has also forced the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) to halve water production. Spokesperson Samuel Apedel said output has dropped to about 50 million litres daily, affecting Eastern Kampala, Mukono District, Namugongo, Gayaza, Kamwokya, Kireka, Mbuya, Matuga and neighbouring areas.
UETCL’s Chief Engineer for Technical Services, Eng. Protaze Tibyakinura, said technical teams were working continuously to replace damaged components and restore stable supply.
Authorities have urged the public to report suspicious activity around transmission infrastructure to prevent further vandalism.