KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda’s power sector is facing a looming crisis. The Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd. (UEGCL) has raised alarm bells over the future of the $568 million Isimba Hydropower Plant, citing critical repair delays that could trigger a full dam collapse.
UEGCL CEO Harrison Mutikanga delivered the grim update on Friday during a closed-door meeting with Inspector General of Government (IGG) Beti Kamya and her team.
Mutikanga pointed the finger squarely at the Chinese contractor, China International Water and Electricity Corporation (CIWEC), accusing them of dragging their feet on urgent repairs.
“If this dam fails, the damage downstream would be catastrophic,” Mutikanga warned, pressing CIWEC to implement durable fixes or even consider constructing a completely new spillway.
Built under an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract, Isimba Dam was commissioned in 2019. Trouble surfaced quickly. By mid-2022, major structural defects were detected.
Matters worsened that August when a disastrous operational error flooded the powerhouse, triggering widespread blackouts across Uganda.
Although emergency underwater repairs patched some damage, subsequent inspections exposed deeper problems. Engineers found ongoing erosion, cracks in joint seals, and a dangerous phenomenon known as “hydraulic jerking.”
This instability could lift entire concrete slabs, compromise the dam’s foundation, and spark backward erosion — a nightmare scenario for both power supply and public safety.
Mutikanga voiced additional concerns. The spillway, he said, can no longer handle the flood volumes it was designed for. With rainfall patterns becoming increasingly unpredictable, the risk grows by the day.
Energy Ministry senior officer Herbert Kato added that seeing such failures within just five years is alarming. Concrete structures like Isimba are meant to last a century, while the dam’s electrical systems were designed for 40 years.
Despite these mounting challenges, Isimba continues to generate power, helping UEGCL repay a loan from China’s Exim Bank.
But Mutikanga warned that without prompt action, the plant’s future is bleak. CIWEC was initially given two years to complete repairs, but repeated extensions have yielded little progress.
“We are facing a major safety risk,” Mutikanga stressed, adding that if CIWEC fails to act, UEGCL may be forced to terminate the contract altogether.
The tensions between UEGCL and CIWEC are not new. In February, four CIWEC officials were detained briefly by Parliament Police after downplaying responsibility for the dam’s defects — a stance that clashed sharply with findings from government engineers and energy ministry officials.
After inspecting the dam firsthand, IGG Beti Kamya was blunt. “I am not impressed,” she told reporters.
She promised to issue a full report within three weeks and urged tougher oversight of EPC contracts moving forward.
Meanwhile, CIWEC officials avoided media questions after Friday’s heated session.
With the clock ticking and Uganda’s energy future at stake, the government’s next steps could define the fate of the Isimba Power Plant — and the safety of thousands living downstream.
