As soon as a ray of sunlight streamed through a vein that termites had curved in his door’s wooden frame, he left for the trading centre. At the centre, he learnt that several residents had lost their electrical gadgets following a power surge.
Many attributed the surge to a wire they said the trespasser had hooked to the national distribution grid at night to tap electricity illegally. Over the last two years, the percentage of energy losses resulting from unlawful connections (power theft) has risen from 6.6 per cent in 2018 to 8.3 per cent as of 2020.
The increase was more pronounced between April and December 2020, which Umeme attributes to the scaling down of operations to ferret electricity thieves. The scale back came on the heels of a government directive to organisations to reduce activity to check the spread of coronavirus.
Whereas the government has since lifted the restrictions, many illegal electricity lines remain hidden from law enforcers. As such, scores of innocent persons are at risk of electrocution. A 2018 incident report found that illegal connections to the grid were responsible for 48 per cent of the electrocution cases inland.
The balance was shared between accidental contact with electricity cables and household wiring. Besides the loss of life and property, illegal connections compromise power supply. The Energy Access in Sub-Saharan Africa report states that power theft disrupts voltage stability, thereby resulting in power outages.
Additionally, it affects the revenue performance of utilities and that impacts on operation and maintenance of electricity infrastructure. Section 86 of the Electricity Act forbids the diversion of energy from its proper course or its wastage. Persons convicted of the offense are liable to a fine of up to Shs 600,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both.
Power theft is partly to blame for high retail tariffs because where energy losses are high, utilities are left with fewer units to sell. Where the costs to be recovered are high whilst the units of electricity to sell as well as the customers are fewer, customers will pay a higher tariff if the utilities are to recover their costs. Here are the reasons thieves give for stealing power.
First, that the current electricity tariff for domestic users, currently Shs 750.9 per unit, is high. Second, others argue that the time it takes to get connected to the grid is rather long, over a fortnight.
Third, some say the connection fees – Shs 720,883 for a no pole connection and Shs 2.3 million and Shs 2.7 million for a one pole – are prohibitive. Fourth, that there are no incentives for those who snitch on electricity thieves. Fifth, some individuals do not understand the risks of illegal connections, especially that electricity can kill.
Starting with the end user tariff, consumers need to appreciate that utilities invest money to deliver service. It is recovered through the retail price. Two, customer-funded connections are concluded within 10 working days, starting from the day one pays the inspection fee.
The delays many applicants complain about are traceable to November 2018 when the government started picking the tab for connections to the national grid. With free connections, the number of applicants increased from averagely 600 per day to 1,000, outpacing the supply of connection material.
Three, the connection charges were arrived at after a study commissioned by the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) on the prices of material, such as meters, poles and drop cable to mention but three. Four, one should put a premium of safety from risk of electrocution ahead of pecuniary benefit.
On its part, Umeme has been giving some communities in Kampala insulated wash lines and pre-installed boards with at least one socket, a bulb holder for safety reasons.
Furthermore, Umeme is increasingly using aerial-bundled cables on the network to make it harder for one to directly hook an illegal wire to the national grid. Umeme works with the Uganda Police to bring to book the people behind illegal connections. It has set up safety clubs in many schools to raise awareness about the dangers of illegal connections.
The government, through the Electricity Amendment Bill, is proposing stiffer penalties for electricity theft. Back to where this commentary started, Nsubuga gave the trespasser a dressing-down. The interloper, who survived electrocution, has since stopped tapping electricity illegally.
Nelson Wesonga, a veteran journalist, works with Umeme.
