BY PAUL TENTENA
KAMPALA, UGANDA- Only six out of the 30 Electricity Companies regulated by the Electricity Regulatory Authority have the International Standard Organisation (ISO) certification, meaning the rest are not yet certified according to the Electricity Regulatory Authority Chief Executive Officer.
Ziria Waako said in Kampala that Bujagali Energy Ltd, Eskom Uganda Ltd, Uganda Electricity Generation Company, Kakira Sugar Works Ltd, Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited popularly known as SCOUL and Kinyara Sugar Works Ltd, are the only companies in Uganda carrying an ISO certificate.
“We shall closely monitor electricity companies that have not yet attained ISO certification and help them to attain one in the near future,” said Waako during the launch of the Electricity Regulatory Authority ISO 9001:2015 Certification at the Kampala Serena Hotel.
ISO 9001 Certification provides maximum benefit to organisations if they approach ISO 9001 implementation in a practical way. It ensures that the Quality Management Systems are adopted, work to improve the business and are not just a set of procedures that your employees will find hard to manage.
By adopting an approach that starts out to implement more efficient working practices and focuses on the business objectives of the organisation, one achieves a system that helps and support your staff, and improve your levels of customer satisfaction.
She added that their target is to see Uganda generating over 1000MW of electricity by the end of 2018.
Peter Lokeris, Uganda’s Minerals State Minister said all the efforts they undertake are aimed at improving efficiency in Uganda’s Energy Sector.
“Uganda’s Energy sector is liberalized now. We are contributing to the development of a vibrant and well regulated electricity sector to attain standards in operational excellence,” said Lokeris.
Uganda’s Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda said the attainment of the ISO certification by ERA is evidence that the energy sector is making strong progress.
He recalled the days when there was poor reliability of electricity and rampant power black outs which he said is now a thing of history.
“In the dark days, only 50% of all the revenue that was being generated in the electricity sector was being collected with power losses at over 30%. Uganda Electricity Board was heavily subsidized by the government which is no longer the case now,” said Rugunda.
He said Uganda will be contented if the country can have over 4736MW of electricity.
“Even in the next budget, the prioritization is roads and power to support our industrialization and social growth. Over 2.99 Trillion Uganda Shillings has been provided as budget allocation in the sector,” said Rugunda.
