UGANDA, Masaka | Real Muloodi News | Masaka City Council is pursuing funding amounting to USh480 million to transition from hydro-powered to solar energy streetlights, aiming for sustainability in energy utilisation.
In 2017, the then Urban Council of Masaka Municipality received a grant of USh3.6 billion from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development as part of a loan acquired by the government from the International Development Agency (IDA) to extend the Kawanda-Masaka hydropower line project. This grant was utilised to install hydro-powered lights on major streets and markets within the area.
However, Abel Ssembajjwe, the Masaka City Assistant Engineer, reveals that the city encountered challenges in maintaining the hydro-powered lights due to high power bills.
Consequently, in 2019, the City Council decided to uninstall all the LED lights until a more sustainable solution was identified.
Ssembajjwe now proposes converting the 260 hydro-powered LED lights to solar energy streetlights to ensure their effective functionality.
These lights, currently housed in city facilities, will complement the solar-powered lights obtained under the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) projects recently executed in the area.
Additionally, a portion of the funds will be allocated to repairing existing solar streetlights that have been vandalied or have exceeded their lifespan.
Florence Namayanja, the Masaka City Mayor, indicates that they intend to finance the project using their local revenue collection budget.
She criticises their predecessors for accepting hydro-powered streetlights that proved difficult to maintain.
Once the conversion is complete, the lights will be installed in satellite trading centres located outside the city’s central business area.
Before the removal of the hydro-powered streetlights, Masaka Municipal Council faced a monthly expense of 26 million Shillings in electricity bills, surpassing the anticipated USh14 million.
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