Country Uganda Status Operational Nameplate capacity 200 MW (270,000 hp) Units operational 5 | Location Jinja Commission date 2003 Owner Politics of Uganda | |
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Kiira Power Station, sometimes spelled Kiyira Power Station, is a hydroelectric power station with an installed capacity of 200 megawatts (270,000 hp), in Uganda.
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LocationEdit
The power station is located at Kimaka, a northern suburb of Jinja, Jinja District, in eastern central Uganda, approximately 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi) northwest of the central business district of Jinja, Uganda's second-largest industrial city. It operates next to the Nalubaale Power Station at the point where the River Nile pours out of Lake Victoria starting its 4,000 miles (6,400 km) journey to the Mediterranean Sea. The coordinates of the power station are 0°27'01.0"N, 33°11'08.0"E (Latitude:0.450272; Longitude:33.185558).
HistoryEdit
In 1993, work started on the Nalubaale Power Station project. The new project is a second powerhouse located about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) northeast of the Nalubaale Power Station, which was built in 1954. A new canal was cut to bring water from Lake Victoria to the new powerhouse. Major construction was completed in 1999. The first power from two units out of the installed five units, came online in 2000.
As of 2003, three of the five hydro power generators had been installed. Installation of the fifth and final turbine was completed in January 2007. Each unit at the extension has a capacity of 42 MW. During official opening ceremonies in 2003, the extension was named the "Kiira Power Station". Design and project management of the extension project was by Acres International (now part of Hatch Ltd), Canada.
OperationsEdit
In 2002, the government of Uganda, through the Uganda Electricity Generation Company, a 100 percent parastatal, awarded a 20-year operational, management, and maintenance concession to Eskom Uganda Limited, a subsidiary of Eskom, the South African energy company, to cover both Kiira Power Station and nearby Nalubaale Power Station. Eskom sells the electricity it generates to the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL), the authorized single buyer. UETCL resells the power to Umeme, the energy distributor.