Uganda has experienced a total national blackout after the power grid collapsed at 2:00pm on Tuesday, leaving approximately 45 million people without electricity across all regions.
The Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL) confirmed that a cascade failure at the Karuma Hydropower Plant triggered downstream shutdowns at Bujagali and Isimba dams. "We are working to restore power in phases, starting with Kampala and hospital facilities," said UEGCL spokesperson Julius Wanderra.
Hospitals have switched to backup generators. Banks have suspended electronic transactions. Kampala traffic is in gridlock with all signal lights out.
This is Uganda's worst power outage since the 2006 load-shedding crisis.
