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Achwa hydropower plant ready for commissioning
Engineers carry out final checks and tests of the electromechanical units of the substation at Achwa hydropower project on Wednesday. PHOTO BY TOBBIAS JOLLY OWINY
Achwa hydropower project in Angagura Sub-county, Pader District is ready for commissioning, Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) has said.
The project was meant to be ready by August but delays emerged as landowners protested the construction of power lines on their land before compensation.
When Daily Monitor visited the project site on Wednesday, final tests and close monitoring were being conducted by engineers on the electromechanical units of the powerhouse.
UEDCL spokesperson Jonan Kiiza said after settling the grievances of the land owners, they were able to complete the construction of the powerline and the transformer units at Layibi substation in Gulu in the first week of December bringing the project to 99 per cent completion.
“At Achwa, the substation is ready for commissioning and we are currently undertaking tests for the last segment that is metering. Here at Layibi substation, it is also ready to receive the power that is now being evacuated from Achwa.
“.....in terms of installation and tests, all are done and we are only waiting for the full commissioning,” Mr Kiiza said.
A fortnight ago, Gulu High Court slapped a temporary injunction on the project, ordering UEDCL to stop all works on the power line until grievances of the 76 project affected persons, who petitioned the court, are sorted.
The injunction restrained UEDCL from erecting poles, carrying out evictions or making any other developments on the land in Deng A, Lacede, Libi, Loboto, Bur-lobo, Lalem and Ogom villages.
“A total of 32 Project Affected Persons (PAP), whose compensation values do not exceed 500,000 have already received their payments that they consented to what the chief government valuer approved while those whose payments are beyond Shs500,000 shall be paid before Christmas,” Mr Kiiza said.
Last week, final tests were made on the power station, an indoor step-up power substation and the transformer.
The substation is an assemblage of electrical components including bus bars, switchgear, and power transformers, auxiliaries that are connected in sequence such that a circuit can be switched off during normal operations by manual command and also automatically-during abnormal conditions such as short-circuit.
The substation will, however, only be able to evacuate 12MW of the 42MW generated at the Achwa HPP to Gulu and Kitgum substations at ago.
Originally, power generated was to be evacuated through a 132kV high voltage transmission line that was to be built by Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) to a substation in Lira Town.
Locals response
Mr Godfrey Oringa Largo, the Pader District chairperson, urged locals to take advantage of the construction of the power plant to increase their household income through investing in small and medium scale agro-processing machines since there is plenty of electricity.
“The establishment of this hydropower dam here should save us from the burden of travels to long distances to Gulu or Kitgum towns in search of a simple maize or rice hurler because there is electricity here. Once farmers can add value to their produce, it’s a big achievement,” he said.
Mr Paul Mwesigwa, the UEDCL managing director, said power availability and reliability will be realised in Acholi region.
