Jinja’s Nalubaale Power Plant has received an upgraded compressed air governor system which will improve the overall plant operations. The system, according to a media statement by Eskom Uganda that operates the plant, will ensure reliable production, distribution, and supply of compressed air to the turbine governing system.
“The project, carried out with Ugandan contractors at UGX 500 million (USD 140,000) replaces an old system that was last upgraded in 1989. It will improve plant reliability since it has been automated to significantly reduce human operational intervention,” reads the statement.
Eskom Uganda Limited (EUL) is a subsidiary of Eskom Enterprises SOC Ltd, the investment arm of Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd, the leading electricity utility company in Africa. Eskom is running a twenty-year concession agreement on 1st April 2003 to operate and maintain two government-owned hydropower plants- Nalubaale and Kiira whose total installed capacity is 380MW. The two plants started operations in 1954 and 2003 respectively.
Speaking at the project commissioning, Thozama Gangi, Eskom Uganda Managing Director, said: “We are proud to commission yet another project that will ensure efficient power generation but also extend the lifetime of Nalubaale Power plant while observing high standards of safety.”
The system, according to Thozama, will improve maintainability options by improving system reliability, but will also foster plant safety and availability. It will also ensure compliance of the 66-year-old plant to environmental management standards.
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Filbert Kinyanda, the Technical Director of API Technical Services, the contractors who undertook the project said their company was proud to have “worked with Eskom in making a contribution to the maintenance of this national asset that is Nalubaale Power Dam.”
“The newly installed system can self-operate with detection of insufficient air pressure conditions,” he said.
17 years into its 20-year concession, Eskom has to date invested over UGX 118 Billion (USD 32million) majorly on equipment upgrade with Nalubaale Power Plant taking the bulk of the investment.
