Traders have raised an alarm over persistent power outages in Mbale City and its neighborhood. The most affected traders are Nakaloke, Budadiri, Bududa, Sironko, Buyombo, and some parts of Kacumbala, among others.
According to the traders, the power blackouts have persisted since Wednesday this week, during the day and at night.
Titus Ondeka, a resident, says that the two-day power outage has affected his business. Ondeka irons clothes with an electric iron for a living. He also works as a security guard at night.
Betty Nandutu, a businesswoman at Ambastore in Indian Quarters in Mbale City, says that she has lost her milk worth half a million shillings due to the blackout. She explained that she could not remove the milk in the fridge because they have not been experiencing a prolonged power outage.
Brian Owinyi, the manager of Bills Motel at Ambastore in Indian Quarters in Mbale City, says that they have had to incur extra costs in fueling a generator.
Jonan Kiiza, the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited- UEDCL spokesperson, says that they have challenges of power in the region because they on Wednesday night sustained flood at Mbale substation and it went on fault immediately.
He says they opted to drip the substation to ensure that the equipment at the station is safe and to ensure public safety, especially the electricity consumers in the region.
The UEDCL staff spent part of Thursday draining rainwater from critical machines at the substation, and they have to leave it to get dry.
Kiiza says they have not energised the station because some machines were still wet.
He appealed to power consumers to ensure they disconnect their machines and switch off power cables whenever power goes off, because it may affect them when they experience high voltage power flow.
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