Electricity sector players have unveiled an umbrella body that will bring all of them together for the greater good. The Energy Generators and Distributors Association of Uganda (EGADAU) was launched today by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Dr Gorreti Kitutu.
Mr. Selestino Babungi, the Managing Director Umeme commenting on the association said the association reflects the need for joint efforts in “our operations and supporting each other.”
“Our role in this association is to supplement and compliment government’s efforts and deliver on our core roles. Energy is one of the sectors which can create so many jobs if access was fully exploited. Umeme alone directly employees more than 2,000 employees and many others indirectly. How many jobs would be create if we had 100% access?” he said.
The association will promote best practice and develop sector relevant technical skills by supporting initiatives of the regulator and develop industry best practice with a view of developing a culture of compliance and clear practice guidelines.
The association currently has 13 founding partner members and is expected to bring together the more than 40 energy players in the electricity sector.
Speaking during the unveiling ceremony at Sheraton Hotel Kampala, Dr. Kitutu hailed the energy sector players for coming together under one umbrella body.
“The association will bring all the players together to address some of the sector challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, energy losses and increase demand for the surplus electricity that is being generated,” she said.
She also commended the players and Umeme for improving their response time which has helped to address outages and power safety issues raised by the public.
Ms Thozama Gangi, the Managing Director Eskom Uganda who also doubles as the interim chairperson of EGADAU while speaking during the launch said, “The idea to form an association was mooted in 2013. A working party composed of a number of generators and Umeme began work on forming the association and made good ground up to the stage of drawing up a constitution.”
However, due to several leadership changes in different organizations, the idea went to the back burner until the tail end of 2019 when the sector players once again called for the revival of EGADAU.
“Consequently, the first meeting was held on 14th February 2020 and second meeting on 14th May 2020 and a series of online meetings,” she added.
