The Chairperson of Parliament’s natural resources committee Alex Byarugaba says it is ill advised to rely only on Hyrdro electric power generation.
He has emphasized the need to continue investing in alternative power sources like thermal generators to provide the nation with a fallback position in case hydro power generation becomes unreliable.
His comments follow calls by the opposition to block the allocation of 95 billion shillings in the financial year 2018/2019 to thermal power plants.
A recommendation in the minority report on the budget framework paper notes that such funds are unnecessary since the nation has more than enough power generated from Bujagali and other dams.
However Byarugaba argues that such a move would leave the nation exposed to possible shortage of power since hydro power generation can be affected by weather changes.
Two Chinese state-owned corporations — Sinohydro Corporation Ltd and China Water & Electricity Corporation (CWE) are looking to finish the 600MW Karuma and the 183MW Isimba dam on the River Nile in 2018.
