Bujagali plant increases power output

Last Updated 14 years ago by Kenya Engineer

Bujagali will be adding another 50 mega watts of electricity to Uganda’s national grid. The 250 megawatt hydropower plant started supplying electricity early this year.

Government officials said the reliability test run for the third 50MW unit was completed earlier bringing to 150MW the total amount of power being generated from the plant.

Bujagali Energy Limited (BEL) announced that the reliability test run for the third 50MW unit is not yet complete but will be in a week’s time. The units are being run in a series of ‘commissioning tests’ to ascertain their performance.

The first unit was commissioned in mid-February and the second one in April reducing the 12-hour load shedding to two hours. A third unit will also be commissioned while a fourth one is also expected bringing the total to 200MW.

Upon completion in July this year, the power plant will produce a total of 250MW.The plant jointly owned by Sithe Global Power LLC and Industrial Promotion Services Kenya Ltd started construction in 2006.
Uganda has been relying much on thermal power .In November last year, they decommissioned the emergency thermal plants which cost the nation Sh 1.5 trillion since 2005.Other than the Bujagali plant, they plan to construct a 600 megawatt Karuma Hydropower Project starting June this year.

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