Eskom Uganda Limited has invested Shs 5 billion 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 23rd April 2021.
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 Limited has been maintaining and operating the plant since year 2003.
The installed electronic governor system replaces one earlier installed in 2007 for both units which had reached the end of its operational life.
Eskom Uganda Limited’s managing director Thozama Gangi 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.”
Thozama 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 Puhringer, 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 1st time I came to Uganda was in the year 2007 for commissioning of 4 governors in Nalubaale,” Andreas Puhringer said.
The construction of Kiira Power Station began in the year 1993 and was completed in 2003.
The plant has an installed capacity of 200 MW with 5 units, each producing 40MW.