Uganda will make an emergency purchase of power from neighboring Kenya to stabilize supply after floods hit its 183-megawatt Isimba plant’s powerhouse last week, forcing a shutdown.
The East African country will purchase 60 megawatts from Kenya and plans to restart an idled 50-megawatt thermal plant in the capital, Kampala, Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu said in a statement. An additional 20 megawatts will come from Kakira sugar plant, which produces power from cane pulp.
The government-owned Isimba, located about 80 kilometers northeast of Kampala, along the Nile River, was constructed by China International Water and Electric Corp. and started generation in March 2019. The Export-Import Bank of China provided a loan of $482.5 million for the $567.7 million project, according to the Electricity Regulatory Authority.
Uganda has an installed generation capacity of about 1,347 megawatts, 80% of which is from hydropower, while peak demand is about 800 megawatts, according to the regulator.