The East African country of Uganda experienced a rare nationwide electricity blackout for the best part of Friday, according to the nation’s grid operator.
The grid shutdown occured during the testing of a newly-completed, Chinese-built $1.5 billion 600 megawatt hydropower plant on the Nile river in the country’s north, Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) shared via a post on its official X handle.
“Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited informs the general public that a national blackout has been registered following a load rejection test at the Karuma hydro power plant,” the post read.
However, less than two hours later, news was shared that the grid had been restored partially.
The Energy Ministry revealed Uganda has an installed power generation capacity of 2,000 MW, which generates more power than the nation consumes.
Uganda is now exploring the possibility of exporting the excess to neighbours like South Sudan and Kenya.
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