US $567.7m Isimba Hydropower Dam in Kayunga
District Uganda has been officially commissioned by President Museveni.
“The construction and completion of Isimba dam gives confidence to investors
that Uganda has adequate and reliable electricity,” said President
Museveni.
The 183.2MW power plant is located at the village
of Isimba on the Victoria Nile, in Kamuli District, approximately 44
km north of the Bujagali Hydroelectric Power Station.
Construction of the project which was built by China International Water & Electric Corporation (CWE) with Artelia and KKATT being the project consultants began
in 2015. It features a five-floor office complex which has control units
to regulate functioning of turbine generators, transformers and swtich-yard.
The project extends over approximately 2,867.6
acres of land and comprises a concrete gravity dam, a clay-core rock fill dam,
a spillway, a power house, electro-mechanical equipment, switching stations,
and auxiliary power transmission works.
The concrete gravity dam comprises a reservoir
retaining structure in front of the erection bay. The rock fill dam is to
provide storage for emergency gates and stop logs.
The powerhouse features four 45.8MW Kaplan turbines
and the switchyard is connected with the powerhouse by four overhead lines. The 183MW at
Isimba dam will be transmitted over 42 km to Bujagali dam switchyard to load on
national grid.
The electricity generated is set to increase power
on the national grid to slightly over 1,000MW. This could prompt tariff
reduction for large-scale consumers supplied from the national grid. Energy
Minister Permanent Secretary Robert Kasande, noted that power price
reduction is not immediate for everybody across the board.
Isimba technical staff have been running tests of
gradual loading of the electricity generated from the dam onto the national
grid since last December, when the plant was originally planned to be
commissioned.
Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd (UECGL) said it will sell the electricity it generated at about US $5 cents per unit or 1,000 watts, lower than the US $8 cents charged for Bujagali dam power. https://constructionreviewonline.com/2019/03/us-567-7-million-isimba-hydropower-dam-in-uganda-commissioned/
