Power consumers in Ibanda District are expressing frustration over what they describe as persistent and unpredictable electricity blackouts, with some blaming the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) for failing to provide a reliable supply.
Residents and business operators say frequent power interruptions are disrupting daily activities and affecting businesses that depend on electricity.
Traders, salons, welding workshops, restaurants and other small enterprises are particularly affected, as prolonged outages can lead to lost working hours, spoiled goods and additional operating costs.
The complaints come amid wider concerns about electricity reliability following UEDCL’s assumption of distribution operations.
In May 2025, Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa acknowledged continuing power interruptions and attributed some of the problems to ageing infrastructure inherited from the previous distributor, heavy rains and vandalism.
UEDCL itself says outages can result from maintenance.
Ibanda consumers, however, the immediate concern are the effect of unreliable electricity on livelihoods. They want UEDCL to explain the cause of the repeated outages, provide clearer information about planned shutdowns and ensure that faults are addressed promptly.
Efforts to obtain a comment from the UEDCL office in Ibanda were unsuccessful. The office could not respond to questions about the reported blackouts and their causes by the time of publication.