- Uganda to penalise consumers for ‘wasting power.’
- Energy wasters to face jail terms or fine
The Ugandan government has announced plans to penalise consumers who it says waste power. The Minister of State for Energy, Sidronious Okaasai, made this known during a high-level stakeholder engagement on energy and environment financing in Kampala. “We are actually formulating a law that will ensure efficient use of the energy we generate. We are doing this so that we get the best out of it. I can tell you there will be arrests or fines for those who don’t comply. We will expect people to use standard appliances that save or use power efficiently,” Okaasai said. “We will have to set standards for electric appliances that we have to use as a country,” he added.
Okaasai also stated that the government would seek solutions for reducing energy losses in the network while also ensuring energy conservation on the consumer end. The government is proposing a law that criminalises the non-use of energy-saving appliances for households and businesses; he added that culprits would be subjected to a fine, jail term or both if convicted.