Power sales agreement: Between Uganda and South Sudan ratified Power Sales Pact to Enhance Electrical Commerce to Strengthen Socioeconomic Development in the border Towns of Oraba, Elegu, Kaya, and Nimule

By Abdul Rahman Bangura–

NEW AFRICA DAILY NEWS (NADN) Freetown, Sierra Leone – The Olwiyo substation in Northern Uganda, which is already regulating at 132kV, will be the derivation of electricity for the 400kV Olwiyo-Juba transmission line, which would circulate power to Juba.

Pursuing a December 2015 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand transmission and distribution infrastructure to unite the two nations through the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Plan (Nelsap), a mutual technical committee has been ascertained to plan and coordinate the project’s development.

According to the pact, construction of the 308 km (138 km in South Sudan and 170 km in Uganda) 400kV Olwiyo-Juba power transmission line would be given preference. There will also be an expansion of the substations at Juba, Olwiyo, and Bibia (near the Elegu border post in Uganda).

The PSA was approved on Tuesday in Juba by Irene Bateebe, the Permanent Secretary of the Ugandan Energy Ministry, and Beck Awan Deng, the General Manager of the South Sudan Electricity Corporation (SSEC).

“Today’s signing ceremony marks the beginning of serious cooperation in power trade between Uganda and South Sudan,” Energy Minister Dr. Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, who led the Ugandan committee let out.

Peter Marcello Jrevenge, South Sudan representative, expanded, “We would like to see projects that benefit both the people of Uganda and South Sudan…We will take power from small towns in Uganda, such as Elegu and Oraba.”

The feasibility study, which commencedd in March 2023 and is predicted to be completed in February of the next year, is being reached by a consortium made up of the Italian companies CESI S.p.A., ELC Electro Consult S.p.A., Colenco Consulting Ltd., and Colenco Consulting Ltd. of Nigeria.

African Development Bank (AfDB) has conceded to donate allotment for feasibility surveys for Uganda and South Sudan. AfDB will similarly give project funding.

For New Africa Daily News Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent