Power Company powers on

Turbine

The power company continues to grow. In September, it had 278 outside customers, not far short of its practical ceiling of 300. It has now got to the stage where it might not be able to meet full demand in early evenings during the dry season, when water flow is low and power production falls.

One way to help, is to reduce consumption by Hospital Group staff, who are currently not properly charged for their power. Meters are being installed as a plan to introduce a charging mechanism, to induce lower peak consumption. But no charging can be introduced until meters have been installed and consumption can be individually assessed for each and every unit of accommodation. Furthermore, many local staff have a very poor idea of how much electricity will really cost. Some thought the cost would be Ugx 10,000 per month, when in reality the measured usage wo8uld have cost Ugx100,000. Faced with real cash bills of this magnitude, users will switch back to cooking on charcoal.

George and Doreen Wadsworth have returned again to help manage the Company. They are still actively looking for an expat engineer to lead the development of Kisiizi Hospital Power Limited, say for two years. George was challenged as to why did the manager have to be an expatriate? The problem is that where electricity is in such short supply, who gets what and the management of the money would make a manager from the local region vulnerable to corrupt influences.

George is seeking to formalise various aspects of the Company: writing procedures for staff, bringing the accounts up to date, sorting out VAT arrears (this happens in Uganda too!). There will be some consideration on how to put into use the “surplus” power – that power that is available but does not get used during the night. Perhaps in a bakery? Commercial development is less likely to increase load pressure at peak cooking time. Some electric entrepreneurs are using the power to re-charge large batteries to provide lighting in houses where mains electric power has not yet reached.. Also for carpentry workshops, circular saws, wood turning lathes, etc. There is quite a lot of electric welding, none with eye protection!

In the future, some consideration might be given to solar power, though the frequent cloud cover may mean this is less practical than it might seem at first. But in the meantime, gross revenue are in the order of Ugx 5-8 million a month, some of which is going toward deferred salary costs, as well as towards helping the Hospital run. Which is one of the reasons the Power Company was set up in the long place – to assist the longer term financial future of the Hospital, as well as providing a secure source of power.