The Energy Institute of Uganda with other energy stakeholders like the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Eskom Uganda Limited and Umeme Uganda limited will hold the first National Energy Management Awards on 13^th December. 

The rising cost of energy coupled with the growing concern for environmental conservation calls for a major shift in the way Ugandans use energy. Energy efficiency and conservation strategies must be made a priority if locally produced goods and services are to remain competitive. 

The purpose of the National Energy Management Award is to recognise industries that have achieved outstanding energy savings and cost reductions through improved utilisation of energy.   

The Awards will be won in the following categories:

u         Overall Energy Management Award

u         Energy Innovation Award

u         Best Energy Management Team Award

u         Electricity Savings Award

u         Fuel Savings Award

u         Service Sector Energy Award 

Participation in the Energy Management Award is open to all energy consumers  including 1)Households and  governmental institutions like schools, hospitals, universities, ministries and all kinds of administration buildings 2) Industry and Commerce – large industry as well as small and medium enterprises, hotels, banks, private offices and small commerce 3)Transport – private motorized transport, public transport, freight transport as well as transport infrastructure,4) Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution companies.  

Participants have to demonstrate a commitment to improving energy utilisation in their operations through policy, planning, implementation of planned activities and measurement, verification, and documentation of achievements. 

The event will attract high profile persons including key stakeholders, Parliamentarians, Development partners, Government officials, Academicians, Consultants, Bankers, Manufacturers, SME Entrepreneurs, Property Managers, Media houses, Non Governmental Organizations, Associations and the General Public with interest in energy conservation. 

TULLOW Oil Plc, a leading independent oil and gas, exploration and production group has announced the discovery of more oil and gas in the Kasamene-1 exploration well in Uganda.

Tullow Oil said in a press release issued to the London Stock Exchange this morning, it encountered over 31 metres of net oil pay and at least 6 metres of net gas pay while drilling the hole, located in the Butiaba region.

Testing and sampling confirmed the presence of dry gas and moveable oil, Tullow said, adding reservoir quality is 'excellent'.'The most likely gas column is over 35 metres and the most likely oil column is over 75 metres,' Tullow said.Aidan Heavey, Chief Executive of Tullow commented: "Kasamene-1 is the most important result to date in Tullow's Butiaba drilling campaign.

 In addition to maintaining our 100% exploration success record in Uganda, this result indicates the potential for further significant discoveries from the Victoria Nile delta play, and is likely to represent an important element of longer term commerciality planning."  

Umeme the power distributor in Uganda has been urged to develop strict measures to reduce power losses. The call was made during the Stakeholders Forum to reduce power losses organized by the Ministry of Energy. A

ccording to Mr. Paul Mare the General Manager Umeme Uganda, the causes of losses included both technical and non technical factors. He said technical losses include resistance in the wire and transformers, made worse by overloaded and badly designed systems. Whereas the non technical losses were as a result of electricity theft, billing system software problems, incorrect customer data base and poor billing process administration. Mr. Paul said this during the stakeholders’ forum on power losses reduction organized by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development. 

 He added that Umeme has put in place several remedies to reduce losses but said that there are still key impediments to success due to the following factors:Thieves immediately return to stealing after being normalized. He cited Masaka and Kampala as examples of such crime. “In follow up exercises in Masaka, 80% of businesses previously caught for stealing were again doing so. Our experience in Kampala is that over 23% of thieving businesses, who were caught, return to stealing. We estimate that this phenomenon involves about 10,000 and 20,000 thieves.” he said. 

Other impediments indicated were that thieves arrested are not successfully prosecuted and agreements with business organizations have failed. Meanwhile participants who included officials from government agencies, development agencies and private institutions argued that UMEME’s remedies to power loss reduction were still lacking and there was need for them to Improve. 

Eng. Dr. Frank Sebbowa, Chief Executive Officer Electricity Regulatory Authority, said that Umeme’s declared losses varied between 34% and 38%, its loss reduction strategy is low on measurable milestones. Dr. Sebbowa added that Umeme started serious loss reduction measures rather late with very few remedies. He said Umeme public campaigns on electricity theft are not assertive and that its capital investments have not yielded proportionate loss reductions. Against this background the stakeholder forum participants came up with recommendations for Umeme and the general public so as to wave power losses.

 The recommendations were as follows: To reduce technical losses there is need to strengthen the transmission network, power factor improvement by large consumers by installation of capacitor banks and to put in place incentives for power factor correction through the tariffs. For non technical loss causers; 

• Umeme was urged to include local leaders at district level in their campaigns against electricity theft.
• Umeme is to improve its public relations with its customers and stakeholders following complaints that the general public was embittered with its operations.
• Following Umeme’s report that it had fired 114 staff for fraud, it was advised to provide job security and tenure for its staff so they are motivated to work and protect their company and not steal form it.
• Umeme was asked to develop a more assertive public campaign and to develop a well packaged message that the local leaders can give to their people.
• There should be more involvement of security committees chaired by the RDCs and Umeme staff at the district level other than having the same people from head office visiting all places.
• Energy audits of large consumers should be enhanced.
• Umeme was urged to have private prosecutors for electricity theft and special courts to handle cases in a timely manner.
• To avoid theft of transformer oil, the taps should be sealed
• Umeme should have a scheme to reward whistle blowers (people who report theft cases) to encourage identification of culprits. The numbers used should be made tool free.
• Government was also called upon to continue with the energy efficiency and demand side management programmes.
• Umeme to provide prepaid meters on plot basis and will be taken up following the results of the pilot
• More forum on power losses reduction should be organized at regional levels both by government and Umeme
• Umeme must provide a loss reduction plan with measurable milestones.

 Meanwhile, the general public was called upon to support Umeme in the fight against electricity theft since the assets stolen are national assets and not for Umeme.       

 Rapid increases in the large-scale production of liquid biofuels in developing countries could exacerbate the marginalization of women in rural areas threatening their livelihoods, according to a new FAO study.

The study notes that large-scale plantations for the production of liquid biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel require an intensive use of resources and inputs to which small farmers, particularly women, traditionally have limited access. These resources include land and water, chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

“Unless policies are adopted in developing countries to strengthen the participation of small farmers, especially women in biofuel production by increasing their access to land, capital and technology - gender inequalities are likely to become more marked and women’s vulnerability to hunger and poverty further exacerbated,” said Yianna Lambrou, co-author of the paper entitled Gender and Equity Issues in Liquid Biofuels Production – Minimizing the Risks to Maximize the Opportunities. “Biofuel production certainly offers opportunities for farmers – but they will only trickle down to the farm level, especially to women, if pro-poor policies are put in place that also empower women.”

The pressure from biofuel production
The growing global demand for liquid biofuels, combined with increased land requirements, could put pressure on so-called “marginal” lands, which provide key subsistence functions to the rural poor and are frequently farmed by women, the report noted. The conversion of these lands to plantations for biofuels production “might cause the partial or total displacement of women’s agricultural activities towards increasingly marginal lands,” with negative consequences for women’s ability to provide food, according to the report.

The potential depletion or degradation of natural resources associated with large-scale plantations for biofuel production may place an additional burden on rural farmers’ work and health, in particular on female farmers. If biofuel production competes, either directly or indirectly, for water and firewood supplies, it could make such resources less readily available for household use. This would force women, who are traditionally responsible, in most developing countries, for collecting water and firewood, to travel longer distances thus reducing the time available to earn income from other sources.

The report also warned that the replacement of local crops with monoculture energy crop plantations could threaten agro-biodiversity as well as the extensive knowledge and the traditional skills of smallholder farmers in the management, selection and storage of local crops, all activities performed mainly by women.

Unequal employment opportunities
The establishment of plantations for biofuel production may create new employment opportunities in rural areas. These opportunities are targeted mainly to low-skilled agricultural workers, who are increasingly employed on a seasonal or casual basis. A growing number of these workers are women (around 40 percent of the total in Latin America and the Caribbean), who due to existing social inequalities tend to be particularly disadvantaged, compared to men, in terms of wages, working conditions and benefits, training and exposure to safety and health risks.

The report stresses the need for further research and data on the socio-economic effects of liquid biofuel production on men and women.

The study calls for an environmentally sustainable and pro-poor biofuel development strategy, integrating energy crop plantations into existing local agri-food systems in order to protect smallholder farmers’ traditional agricultural activities, skills and specialized knowledge, which are crucial to the food security and long-term resilience of rural communities.

Measures should be taken to ensure that women and female-headed households have the same opportunity as men to engage in and benefit from the sustainable production of liquid biofuels. This is all the more important as the number of households headed by women is growing, with around 40 percent of the total in Southern Africa and 35 percent in the Caribbean.