Karuma Dam Evacuates First 100MW to National Grid

The first of the six units at the 600MW Karuma Hydropower Dam has been successfully added to the national grid. Each unit will generate 100 Megawatts.

Enock Kusasira, the head of communications and public affairs at Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL), described the move as a landmark test of eventually evacuating all the power from Kampala to the national grid.

“This is the first of its kind; to put power into the wires. We did that test successfully and we are pleased. The power will now be delivered to the people,” Kusasira said in an interview.

The Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa is today Thursday expected to commission the power transmission line and the power substation at Olwiyo in Nwoya District.

The construction of the $1.7b (Shs6.2 trillion) Karuma hydropower plant along the River Nile, which is expected to generate 600MW, was flagged off in December 2013.

However, its completion has been delayed by many, among them the Covid-19 pandemic, which slowed progress at the dam in March 2020 and saw its launch extended into 2021.

The rise in water levels in Lakes Victoria and Kyoga in 2020 and 2021 also affected the completion.

The reported multiple defects at the plant, and numerous investigations over the last five years by Ugandan experts, have shed light on the quality of works and structural integrity of the dam supposed to last 100 years.

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