The Electricity Regulatory Authority has Approved Providers for the supply of Wooden Utility Poles in the Electricity Supply Industry.
The Approval of the Providers follows a Review done by the Authority and other Electricity sub-Sector Stakeholders in the Financial Year (FY) 2019/20, concerning the Wooden Pole Supply Chain in the Electricity Supply Industry which led to the issuance of the Electricity (Acquisition and Use of Wooden Poles in the Electricity Industry) Guidelines, 2020.
The Guidelines were issued by the Authority to regulate the acquisition of Wooden Poles in the Electricity Supply Industry of Uganda to ensure quality in the poles erected on the Electricity Network which had for long been complained about by the Electricity sub-sector stakeholders. The guidelines became effective on 1st March 2020.
Upon the issuance of the Guidelines, the Authority published a notice calling for providers of quality wooden poles and the providers were selected and vetted through an open domestic bidding process. It is from the competitive bidding process that the list of approved providers was arrived at.
Section 5 (b) of the Guidelines mandates a Licensee to procure Wooden Poles from a list of ERA registered providers.
As approved by the Authority, the providers eligible to supply Wooden Utility Poles, under the Guidelines for a period of Three (3) Financial Years, that is, FY 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 are The New Forest Company Ltd, Busoga Forest Company Limited, Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited, Buyala Pole Treatment Plant Ltd, Roke investment International Limited, Ambiance Tree Farm Ltd, Kampala Pole Treatment Plant Ltd, Kenkon Distributors Ltd, Nile PlyWoods (U) Ltd, BM Investments Ltd, and Ferdsult Engineering Services Ltd.
Upon the expiry of the period of three years, the Authority will undertake a process to identify and register new providers. The Authority appeals to all Stakeholders including Utility companies and contractors to take note of the approved providers and only procure Utility Wooden Poles from the stated providers.