Ugandan company Bujagali Energy Ltd. (BEL) has delivered its first 50 MW of clean energy to the national grid. BEL owns and operates the Bujagali Hydroelectric Power Plant delivered the power on February 22.
The company has commissioned the first of the five generating units well in advance of the target commercial operations date of June 24. Having achieved this important milestone, a full commissioning of all five units is on track for mid-year. When all five units are commissioned, the 250 MW hydropower plant will increase Uganda’s installed generation capacity by about 50%.
The 50 MW capacity generated by Bujagali’s first unit is expected to either reduce the extent of load-shedding, currently estimated between 120 MW-170 MW depending on time of day, or replace emergency generation which costs $9 million per month, thereby bringing forth significant positive impact to Uganda’s economy. This is in addition to over 3000 local jobs created during the project’s construction.
Nizar Juma, Chairman of BEL and IPS (K), said: “We are grateful to the Government of Uganda for providing us with the opportunity, together with our partners, to develop an affordable, renewable, and large scale source of energy for Uganda. This milestone is therefore an important first step towards a time when the supply of power is adequate and massive load-shedding becomes a distant memory – an outcome so aptly envisioned by His Highness the Aga Khan during the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the project on 21 August 2007.”
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