Status Operational Owner(s) Electro-Maxx Limited Elevation 1,180 m | Commission date 2010 Secondary fuel biodiesel Primary fuel Fuel oil | |
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Weather 32°C, Wind W at 11 km/h, 29% Humidity | ||
Tororo Thermal Power Station is a 70 megawatts (94,000 hp) heavy fuel oil-fired thermal power plant located in the town of Tororo in Tororo District in the Eastern Region of Uganda.
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Location
The power station is located in Tororo, approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) southwest of downtown, along the Tororo–Bugiri road. The station is approximately 230 kilometres (140 mi), by road, east of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda. The coordinates of the station are 0°38'14.0"N, 34°07'00.0"E (Latitude:0.637222; Longitude:34.116667).
Overview
The power station is owned and operated by Electro-Maxx Limited, a private energy provider in Uganda, who built the power plant at an estimated cost of US$60 million. The plant uses heavy fuel oil (HFO), a byproduct of petroleum distillation. The plant currently imports HFO but in the future, it will leverage the country's natural assets and obtain domestically produced HFO or crude oil. The initial power station was fully commissioned in September 2010.
Upgrade
In August 2012, Ugandan print media reported that the power station was in the process of upgrading the plant's capacity to 80 megawatts, at an estimated cost of US$60 million. The upgrade was expected to be complete by September 2012. The actual upgrade, however, was to 70 megawatts. The upgrade was completed in October 2012 and the plant's maximum rated capacity is 70 megawatts (16.4 megawatts from the old plant running Niigata engines and a further 53 megawatts from the new plant with Sulzer engines). Upon commissioning of the plant, Electro-Maxx became the first indigenous independent power producer in Africa for power plants with capacity greater than 20 megawatts.
Operation
The power station resumed operations in February 2014 with consistent dispatch. During 2013, the plant was on standby, producing power only when needed, such as a maintenance issue at a hydropower station. The standby period in 2013 resulted from a temporary high supply versus demand for power following the commissioning of the 250 megawatt Bujagali Power Station. With only twelve percent electrification and large industrial growth, demand is rising consistently, which increases the power required from the station.