When the power goes off, silence makes it worse

What the report says

The Observer published an opinion piece from Kampala arguing that electricity outages in Uganda are made worse by poor communication, not just by the loss of power itself. The writer, identified as the head of corporate and consumer affairs at the Electricity Regulatory Authority, says customers often turn to neighbours, WhatsApp groups, and social media to figure out whether an outage is local, planned, or caused by a fault, because official information is frequently unavailable.

The article says Uganda is facing real electricity reliability problems, with rising demand putting pressure on parts of the network and some transformers and substations overloaded. It notes that some interruptions are necessary for maintenance or upgrades, while others are unexpected failures that cannot be predicted. Even so, the writer argues that once an outage is known, consumers should be told what happened, which areas are affected, and when service is likely to return.

The piece compares electricity providers with airlines, banks, and telecom companies that routinely notify customers about service disruptions. It says that clear updates are part of good service, not a substitute for fixing infrastructure. The writer also points to the role of the Electricity Regulatory Authority in setting service standards and holding operators accountable. The broader point is that Uganda’s power sector may be improving in generation and access, but consumers judge progress by whether electricity is available, restored quickly, and explained clearly when it is not.