{"id":51690,"date":"2023-06-30T10:37:59","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T10:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/residents-form-group-to-curb-power-theft"},"modified":"2023-06-30T12:07:58","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T12:07:58","slug":"residents-form-group-to-curb-power-theft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/residents-form-group-to-curb-power-theft","title":{"rendered":"Residents form group to curb power theft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>Residents in Mella Sub-county, Tororo District have formed a vigilante group to fight vandalism of electricity power lines and power theft.<\/p>\n

The locals say the vice has caused load shedding in the villages of Koitangiro A and B, Okuret, Angololo A, Angololo B in Koitangiro Parish.<\/p>\n

Mr Okidele Okeya, a resident, said the vigilante group will patrol the lines, especially at night.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch vices cause power supply disruption, jeopardise public safety and also increase financial costs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ms Agnes Opio, a resident, said frequent power blackouts had frustrated their businesses.<\/p>\n

The Mella Sub-county chairperson, Mr Alex Etyang, said the vandals have caused insecurity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe attacks highlight the growing concerns about the vulnerability of the nation\u2019s electricity grid to vandalism,\u2019\u2019 Mr Etyang said.<\/p>\n

Mr Wilson Egesa, the manager of Umeme for Elgon region, said power theft is still a challenge despite inspections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are losing close to 2 million units per month in the Mbale area. The company sells up to around 75 percent and it loses about 25 percent, which is a very huge percentage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Deogratius Osiu, the councillor of Mella Sub-county, encouraged the community to report any suspicious people. \u201cI am not convinced that a lay person can climb a concrete pole and vandalise the wires. It means the people involved are knowledgeable and could be working with power distribution companies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Umeme says<\/b><\/p>\n

The Umeme Tororo area manager, Mr Tom Awuzu, applauded the initiative. \u201cUmeme cannot afford to deploy security in every part of the country where the line passes to protect, especially the far flung and often remote network of power lines ,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Joel Wanekha, a resident of Busamaga Ward, said: \u201cThey tap power from nearby poles during night hours and remove wires early in the morning to avoid being arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Julius Modomba, a resident of Citizen Cell , said people steal power due to the high charges of power connection.<\/p>\n

Ms Judith Mutenyo, a resident, also said she has applied for power connection for the last four years in vain. \u201cWhenever I go to the offices to inquire, I am told to wait,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mr John Kabaale, the Marare Village chairperson, said Umeme authorities are fond of extorting money from the public. \u201cThose found guilty are asked to provide money so that they don\u2019t arrest them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, Mr Egesa said connection fees are now low.<\/p>\n

\u201cConnection with no pole was previously at Shs730, 000 which has been reduced to Shs470,000,\u201d he said, adding that they are also offering quick services to their clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have shifted from 48 hours of being reconnected in case of any emergency to less than 12 hours,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Uganda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. Residents in Mella Sub-county, Tororo District have formed a vigilante group to fight vandalism of electricity power lines and power theft. The locals say the vice has caused load shedding in the villages of Koitangiro A and B, Okuret, Angololo A, Angololo B in Koitangiro Parish. Mr Okidele Okeya, a resident, said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":51689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-51690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nResidents form group to curb power theft - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Residents in Mella Sub-county, Tororo District have formed a vigilante group to fight vandalism of electricity power lin ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/residents-form-group-to-curb-power-theft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Residents form group to curb power theft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Residents in Mella Sub-county, Tororo District have formed a vigilante group to fight vandalism of electricity power lin ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/residents-form-group-to-curb-power-theft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-30T10:37:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-30T12:07:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2023\/06\/sm_1688110450.203063.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/residents-form-group-to-curb-power-theft#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/residents-form-group-to-curb-power-theft\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Residents form group to curb power theft\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-30T10:37:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-30T12:07:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/residents-form-group-to-curb-power-theft\"},\"wordCount\":463,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/residents-form-group-to-curb-power-theft#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2023\/06\/sm_1688110450.203063.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/residents-form-group-to-curb-power-theft#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/residents-form-group-to-curb-power-theft\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/residents-form-group-to-curb-power-theft\",\"name\":\"Residents form group to curb power theft - 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