A heavy downpour that struck eastern Uganda on Saturday evening knocked out electricity supply in Jinja, Kamuli and several neighbouring areas after causing a fault at the Jinja Industrial Substation, the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) has confirmed.
The widespread blackout affected large parts of Jinja City and surrounding communities, following intense rainfall that disrupted equipment at one of the region’s key power distribution points.
According to UEDCL, the outage was triggered by a technical fault at the Jinja Industrial Substation, which supplies electricity to much of the Busoga sub-region.
“The outage you are experiencing is due to a fault at the Jinja Industrial Substation sustained after a heavy downpour,” said Jonathan Kiiza, UEDCL’s Head of Corporate and Stakeholder Affairs.
Areas affected include Kiira EV, Kamuli, Kamuli Road, Mafubira, Bugembe, Wairaka, Kakira, Magamaga, Busiro, Jinja City, Kimaka, Budondo, Lumuli, Ambercourt, Gadafi Barracks, Masese and Wanyange.
The sudden power cut left homes, businesses and essential services without electricity, disrupting normal activities across the industrial city and its surroundings. The outage particularly affected areas dependent on electricity for manufacturing, water pumping and communication services.
Kiiza said UEDCL engineers were immediately deployed to the affected substation to assess the damage and restore supply.
“Our technical team is working to restore power as soon as possible. We regret the inconvenience caused to our customers,” he said.
UEDCL has urged residents in the affected areas to remain patient as repair works continue, assuring the public that electricity will be restored once the fault at the substation is fully resolved.
