The Environment and Natural Resources Committee of parliament has expressed anger over the delayed construction of the electricity evacuation lines from Nyagak hydro Power station in Zombo district.
The lines are expected to facilitate the evacuation of power from Nyagak 3 Hydro Ham is still under construction by Dott Services Limited at the cost of US$19 million and is expected to add 6.6 Megawatts of power to the 3.2 MW currently generated by Nyagak One.
The works kicked off in 2015 but stalled for three years and resumed in 2019 before the COVID-19 Pandemic stopped it. The works resumed last year and have reached 80 percent according to the Contractor.
However, during a site visit by the Committee of Environment and Natural resources on Friday, the Legislators expressed dismay after finding out that there are no power evacuation lines and yet the Dam is expected to be ready in December before its commissioned in March next year.
A verbal exchange ensued between the MPs and Ayoub Marhtoum, the Project Manager of Dott Services as to why there are no Evacuation lines for Nyagak 3, and yet it was a major component of the project.
Gabriel Okumu, the Okoro County MP in Zombo district where Nyagak three hydro Power Project is located, said that they will ensure that the Contractor puts in place the power evacuation lines and meets his social corporate responsibility to the local community in the Nyagak Three Dam area
According to Okumu, there are fears that the contractor may be tempted to hand over the dam without evacuation lines if the government does not release the required funds for it.
The Committee Chairperson, Dr. Emmanuel Otal, said the committee will summon the relevant government agencies for electricity generation and transmission to provide a clear plan of evacuating power from the dam to avoid paying for generated but undistributed power.
The visit of the MPs comes after West Nile Leaders petitioned the Speaker of Parliament two weeks ago demanding for connection to the National Grid citing inconsistent and unreliable electricity in the region.
Officials from Electricity Regulatory Authority, West Nile Rural Electrification Company, Electromax, and Uganda Electricity Generation and Distribution Company among others are expected to meet the MPs in Parliament next week to address the increasing power demands for West Nile.
