Electricity + Control January 2015

ENERGY + ENVIROFICIENCY ENERGY + ENVIROFICIENCY: AFRICA

to efficiently deliver sustainable, economic, and secure electricity [12]. Upon comparing information from the generation and transmission sector with that of the distribution sector, we find there is enough power being generated and the transmission network is fairly reliable but the bottleneck is in the distribution network. We therefore propose the following smart grid applications for Uganda: o Automatic Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and Demand Side Management (DSM): Consumers are suffering from the effects of high tariffs, unstable and inadequate power. With AMI and DSM, the price of power would be varied basing on demand such that power during peak hours electricity is more expensive than at off peak hours. Consumers would control their consumption during peak hours thus reduce transformer overload. Consumers would also be empowered to control their consumption so as avoid the high power tariff. Lastly if smart appliances and sockets are used in the consumer premises, direct load control would be possible [13] o Distribution automation: The distribution network suffers a lot of faults which sometimes take long to sectionalise. Distribution automation would ease fault management and possibly control vandalism o Distributed generation: There is a need to have distributed generation in order to relieve the load on the transformers in the distribution network o Energy storage: The country relies 70 % on hydro power, which varies with water levels. It would be good if in the rain season, electricity would be stored Conclusion The future for any electrical grid is in converting to a smarter grid. However before this can happen it is important for countries to clearly articulate the specifications of the smart grid that address their problems and thus propose smart solutions to them. This paper has explored the status of Uganda’s electrical power grid and identified critical problem areas that will require custom designed smart solu- tions. The next stage of this research will be to study documented cases from elsewhere in the world and identify similar aspects and the emerging technology options that could be adapted to address the Ugandan power grid issues. References [1] Foster V and Steinbuks J. Paying the Price for unreliable power supplies: In-house generation of electricity by firms in Africa. www.infrastructureafrica.org/systemfilesFWP2_Own generation. pdf. [2] Africa Institute for Energy Governance. Memorandumon electric- ity sector in Uganda. http://www.afiego.org. [3] The Daily Monitor. Manufacturers reject new power tariffs. http:// www.monitor.co.ug/Business

[4] UPDEA. Comparative study of electricity tariffs used in Africa. http://www.updeaafrica.org/updea/docword/tarifang2 010.pdf. [5] Electricity Regulation Authority. Sharing electricity sector achievements and challenges with Uganda energy Journalists Association. http://www.era.or.ug/Pdf/UEJAWorkshop2017- 08-2012-20CEO27s.pdf. [6] Energy utilities of Uganda. http://www.gisuganda. de/Energy-GIS/. [7] Electricity Regulation Authority. Developments and investment opportunities in renewable energy resources in Uganda. http:// www.era.or.ug. [8] CEO magazine Uganda. Eskom to sink a further US $20 M in Uganda. http://www.theceomagazine-ug.com/economy/eskomto- sink-a-further-us-20m-in-uganda.html. [9] UMEME Ltd official website. http://www.umeme.co.ug/index.php? [10]The daily Monitor, Make electricity vandalism a capital offence. http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/- /689364/913414/-/ view/printVersion/-/xm00v6z/-/index.html. [11]International Energy. Agency. Smart technology roadmap smart grids. http://www.iea.org/papers2011/smartgridsroadmap.pdf [12]Gohn B. Strategic deployment document of the European smart grid technology platform. .http://setis.ec.europa.eu/newsroom- itemsfolder/ smartgrids-strategic-deployment-document-final- ised. [13]Soma SS., Depuru R, Wang L., Devabhaktuni V. Smart meters for power grid: Challenges, issues, advantages and status. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2011.

Ruth Mbabazi holds an MSc degree in Data communication and software Engineering. At present she is a PhD student at Makerere University.

Professor Ben Sebitosi holds a PhD in Electrical engineering from the University of Cape Town. Currently he is a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Stellenbosch University.

Dr Julianne Sansa-Otim holds a PhD from the University of Groningen. Currently she is lecturer in the department of networks, Makerere University.

Dr Richard Okou holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering, from the University of Cape Town. Currently he is lecturer in the department of Electrical and computer Engineering Makerere University.

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