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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Eskom Uganda Limited has invested Shs 5billion in an electronic governor upgrade for Units 14 and 15 at Kiira Power Plant, it said in a media release shared with The Independent on Apr.23.
A governing system, the main controller of the hydraulic turbine, varies the water flow through the turbine to control its speed and power output. It also adjusts the unit speed and system frequency.
Eskom Uganda has been maintaining and operating the plant since 2003.
The installed electronic governor system replaces one earlier installed in 2007 for both units which had reached the end of its operational life.
Thozama Gangi, the firm’s managing director explained: “This is yet another investment into Kiira Power Plant in line with Eskom’s mandate of maintaining and operating Kiira and Nalubaale Power Stations. The old governors have been replaced with digital governors using the siemens TC1703 SAT 530.”
Gangi added, the new system has not only provided state of the art technology but also designed to improve unit efficiency and reliability.
The new governor system will have a lifecycle of 15 years, the company said.
It has a guaranteed technical/engineering and spares support to address the challenges previously faced on the units.
Andreas Pühringer, the design engineer from Andrtiz Hydro GmbH, the project contractor said the investment is key in ensuring the dam operates and supports the country’s electricity needs.
“The first time I came to Uganda was in 2007 for commissioning of 4 governors in Nalubaale,” he said.
The construction of Kiira Power Station began in 1993 and was completed in 2003.
The plant has an installed capacity of 200MW with five units, each producing 40MW.
