Set of 50MW power generators starts

Mar 13, 2008

NORWEGIAN firm, Jacobsen AS Elektro, has started installation of the 50MW heavy-fuel oil generators at Namanve sub-station in Kampala.

By Ibrahim Kasita

NORWEGIAN firm, Jacobsen AS Elektro, has started installation of the 50MW heavy-fuel oil generators at Namanve sub-station in Kampala.

This follows completion of a powerhouse, civil works and the arrival of the bulky equipment from Mombasa.
Transportation of the equipment was done by Mombasa-based East Coastal Haulage Company.

The project engineers said power generation and commissioning of the plant is expected in April.

“We have completed the powerhouse and serious work is going on at the site. The generators have arrived. What you are seeing on the roads are the heavy engines that will be installed to run the generators,” an engineer said.

“It will take a week for all the equipment to arrive because they are heavy, thus slowing movement,” the engineer said.

In November 2007, Jacobsen signed operation and maintenance agreements for the plant with Wartsila, a Finish power giant, after it was awarded an engineering, procurement and construction contract.

In 2006, Jacobsen had signed a power purchase agreement with the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company (UETCL) to build, own and operate the plant for six years before transferring it to the Government.

In 2007, it started civil works after UETCL completed rehabilitation of the sub-station for power evacuation into the national grid.

This is part of the new strategy for tackling electricity demand head-on, instead of the old approach of chasing demand forecasts from behind.

Uganda’s electricity supply is 255MW but the country requires about 380MW for the economy to grow at more than 6% per annum.

About 145MW are generated at the two hydro-power stations in Jinja, while less that 100MW are generated at Kiira and Lugogo thermal power stations.

This has caused a deficit of about 125MW, leading to loadshedding.
The new plant is expected to cater for the desired pace of economic development and also ensure that electricity reaches every part of the country.

Another 10MW heavy-fuel oil plant will be built by Electro-Maxx, a local independent power producer, in Tororo. Power generation is expected to start in June.

The Government is utilising alternative sources of electricity to ensure stable power supply at affordable rates.

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