KAMPALA, Uganda — A nationwide power outage plunged large parts of Uganda into darkness on Sunday morning, prompting widespread disruption and public concern as authorities moved to restore electricity and investigate the cause.
The Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) confirmed the incident in an official statement, saying, “a nationwide power outage occurred on 12th April 2026 at 8:53 AM.”
“Our technical teams have commenced efforts to restore the national grid in the shortest time possible and investigating the cause of the incident,” the company said.
The blackout, which lasted several hours in multiple regions, affected homes, businesses and essential services, with reports of outages coming from across the country, including northern areas such as Gulu.
The disruption triggered frustration among citizens, many of whom questioned the reliability of the country’s electricity infrastructure.
“This is an urgent matter that requires immediate resolution. It has been approximately two hours… how the whole country can spend all those hours without electricity?,” said Alex J Muhangi in a post on X.
Other users also reported prolonged outages.
“It’s now 10:39 AM and it’s not yet back,” one user posted, while another added, “We can’t even get the basics right.”
Despite speculation online, there is no evidence at this stage to suggest that Uganda’s power system was compromised by a cyberattack.
UETCL has not indicated any such breach and has instead pointed to ongoing investigations, with early indications suggesting a technical fault or system disturbance within the national grid.
Energy analysts note that nationwide outages are more commonly linked to issues such as transmission line faults, grid instability or cascading failures, where a disruption in one part of the system triggers wider collapse, rather than cyber incidents, which remain relatively rare and typically require formal confirmation.
Some citizens also raised concerns about infrastructure maintenance, pointing to visible issues on transmission lines.
“Understand that the wires crossing… keep making a sharp sound every day. They need separators,” one user said.
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UETCL later reassured the public that restoration efforts were progressing, noting in responses that “full recovery will take some time,” even as electricity supply was gradually restored in several areas.
Uganda has in recent years expanded its electricity generation capacity, with major hydropower projects such as Karuma and Isimba boosting supply.
However, experts have repeatedly warned that transmission and distribution infrastructure has not kept pace with rising demand.
The latest outage is likely to intensify scrutiny of grid resilience, particularly as Uganda positions itself for industrial growth and increased regional power exports.
Reliable electricity remains a cornerstone of economic activity, and large-scale disruptions can have significant implications for businesses, healthcare services and digital infrastructure.
Authorities are expected to release further details once investigations into the cause of the outage are complete.
