Kampala — ELECTRICTY supply to the West Nile region has been cut to eight hours a day following the fuel shortage that has hit the country due to the post-election violence in neighbouring Kenya.

Officials from the power company supplying the region said on Saturday the thermal plant in Arua was not working at full capacity due to the fuel shortage.

Nashion Mwangu, an engineer with the West Nile Rural Electrification Company, said their reserves would be used up by Friday if no new deliveries were made.

"Our supplier, Total, has notified us of a foreseen delay in delivery since several trucks that were in transit in Kenya could be held up due to the violence there," Mwangu said.

He said electricity would only be available from 3:00pm to 11:00pm as attempts are made to get in more fuel through Tanzania.

West Nile has been receiving power for 20 hours everyday, from 6:00am to 2:00am, for the last three years. The reduction in supply is already taking a toll on the economic vibrancy of the region.

Several small-scale industries have been forced to work only in the afternoon when electricity is switched on.

Internet cafes, restaurants and other businesses that depend on electricity are also closed most of the day, affected hundreds of thousands of clients.

Mwangu said if they were to run the thermal plant on light fuel, which, he said, was in "reliable amounts", the power supply would be further reduced to only four hours a day.

"This is because of the consumption level of the generator. It consumes more light fuel than heavy fuel," he explained.

Mwangu appealed to the electricity consumers to pay their bills promptly to enable the company initiate quick responses to the fuel shortage.

The 1.5 megawatts generator was set up in 2003 in a joint venture between the Aga Khan Foundation and the Government. It started working in 2005, initially supplying 18 hours of electricity a day.

Meanwhile, the countrywide fuel shortage has also forced prices of diesel and petrol up. Petrol went up from sh2,300 to sh6,000, while diesel rose from sh2,100 to sh2,500 per litre.

As a result, transport costs went up from sh20,000 to sh30,000 for a journey from Arua to Kampala.

Most fuel station managers blamed the situation on the Kenyan political crisis.

Black market fuel dealers locally known as OPEC Boys, who smuggle in untaxed fuel from neighbouring DR Congo, have made hefty profits out of the crisis. They sell their fuel at about sh2,000 cheaper than the pump price.