By Fahd Kasule
Electricity is no longer a luxury in modern society. It is an essential service that supports education, healthcare, business, communication and the general welfare of citizens.
The persistent electricity blackouts affecting communities in Kassanda district particularly Kassanda North raise serious concerns about the quality of life of residents, particularly students who are expected to use their school holidays to revise, prepare for examinations and develop skills.
A school holiday should be a period of learning, rest and personal development—not a period of struggling with darkness and unreliable electricity.
1. The situation in Kassanda
Kassanda District has made progress in electricity access, but concerns remain about the reliability and reach of the electricity network. In December 2025, the President acknowledged that some parts of Kassanda were still not connected to electricity. The district’s leadership also raised concerns about areas where transformers had been installed but electricity was not available.
For residents of Kassanda North, this raises an important question: What is the value of electricity infrastructure if households, schools and businesses cannot depend on the supply?
The electricity challenges affecting Kassanda must be understood in two ways:
Access: Whether a community has been connected to the national electricity grid.
Reliability: Whether electricity remains available consistently after a connection has been established.
A community may have electricity poles, transformers and connections, yet still experience frequent outages that make daily life difficult.
Uganda has also experienced widespread power interruptions in 2026. UEDCL has acknowledged that ageing equipment, overloaded substations, growing electricity demand and insufficient investment have contributed to outages and longer restoration times.
These national challenges deserve attention, but they should not become an excuse for neglecting the particular needs of Kassanda North.
How blackouts affect students during holidays?
School holidays are often misunderstood as periods when students have nothing important to do. In reality, they are an essential part of the education process.
Students use holidays to revise what they learned during the term, complete assignments, read ahead, prepare for examinations and develop personal skills.
When electricity is unreliable, these activities become more difficult.
Disruption of private study and revision: Many students depend on electricity to read at night, particularly those who share crowded homes or have daytime responsibilities. A blackout may force a student to stop studying, wait for electricity to return or use a candle or other alternative light source.
For students preparing for national examinations, losing several hours of study time can affect their preparation and confidence.
Restricted access to digital learning
Modern education increasingly depends on smartphones, computers and internet access. Students may need electricity to: Charge phones and laptops used for research and revision.
Access online educational materials and recorded lessons.
Participate in virtual lessons and educational discussions.
Download assignments, past papers and examination resources.
A student in Kassanda North without reliable electricity may therefore be disadvantaged compared with a student in an area with a stable power supply. This creates an educational inequality that is not caused by the student’s ability or commitment, but by the infrastructure available in their community.
Loss of productive holiday time
Students are also expected to develop practical skills during their holidays. Some may be learning computer skills, preparing projects, conducting research or helping their parents operate small businesses. Blackouts interrupt these activities and reduce the productive use of the holiday period.
A student who intends to learn computer applications, for example, may be unable to practise consistently if the computer cannot be charged or the internet connection is unavailable.
Financial pressure on families
When electricity is unavailable, families may be forced to spend additional money on candles, batteries, alternative charging services or fuel for generators. For households already facing financial challenges, these additional expenses can be burdensome. Parents may also have to pay for students to travel to locations where electricity is available so they can study or charge their devices.These are avoidable costs that affect the welfare of the entire household.
Emotional and physical effects
Repeated interruptions can cause frustration, stress and discouragement among students. A student who has planned to complete an assignment or prepare for an examination may become anxious when the electricity goes off unexpectedly.
Studying under inadequate lighting can also cause eye strain and discomfort, while using candles or kerosene lamps introduces fire and indoor air pollution risks. The consequences are therefore not limited to academic performance. They also affect the safety, health and wellbeing of young people.
What should the Government and UEDCL do for us?
The electricity challenges in Kassanda require practical solutions, not merely public assurances.The following interventions deserve urgent consideration:
a. Conduct a technical assessment: Identify villages, trading centres and schools experiencing persistent blackouts, including areas with installed transformers but unreliable or absent supply.
b. Improve maintenance and fault response: Ensure that damaged transformers, fallen lines and other faults are addressed promptly, with clear timelines for restoration.
C. Communicate planned outages: Inform residents in advance about maintenance work and explain the expected duration of interruptions.
d. Prioritise educational institutions: Ensure that schools, libraries and community learning centres have reliable electricity, especially during examination preparation periods.
e. Strengthen local accountability: UEDCL, district authorities and elected representatives should provide regular updates on electricity access, reliability and outstanding faults.
f. Invest in alternative energy: Where grid expansion or repairs will take time, schools and community learning centres should be supported to consider solar lighting and solar charging facilities.The Ministry of Energy, UEDCL and local leaders must work together to ensure that electricity infrastructure delivers meaningful benefits to the people of Kassanda North.
A message to the UEDCL
Uganda’s development ambitions depend on an educated and skilled population. Reliable electricity is therefore not simply a matter of convenience; it is an investment in the country’s future.The children of Kassanda North deserve the same opportunity to learn, prepare for examinations and develop their talents.
For students, the school holiday is an opportunity to learn, rest and prepare for the next academic term. Frequent blackouts undermine that opportunity and place additional pressure on families.The Government, UEDCL and local leaders must therefore take decisive action to improve electricity reliability, address outstanding access challenges and protect the educational opportunities of young people.
Reliable electricity today means better learning opportunities, stronger communities and a more productive Uganda tomorrow.
The writer is the CEO, Royal Medical Tourism
