Ethiopia: Tekezze dam starts generating POWER
The almost three billion birr project is expected to solve the current
severe power shortage.
24 August, 2009
Capital - The 2.8 billion birr Tekezze hydro electric power project starts trial power generation this week in the presence of the power utility’s officials.
The dam is expected to help solve the severe power shortage hammering the
economy. It started generating 75MW of power from one of its turbines this
week and is expected to enter the grid within weeks after the test run is
completed.
Tekezze faced a problem in its power house while preparing for the test trial,
but that has since been resolved, paving the way for the trial to begin.
Mihiret Debebe CEO of the Ethiopia Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) is in Tekezze to witness the start of the long awaited dam.
Tekezze is one of the three big projects EEPCo has undertaken in recent
years along with Gilgel Gibe II and Tana Beles.
Gilgel Gibe II is expected to start generation by mid September.
Tekezze incurred the power utility company hundreds of millions of birr
in delays and additional costs.
The project had to negotiate geological problems. Mountains at the site needed
to be leveled causing additional cost particularly in the construction of
a restraining wall to avoid severe shearing.
The dam has four turbines each with a capacity of generating 75 MW totaling
to 300 MW. When completed, Tekezze is expected to add 300MW of much needed
power to the national grid, putting generating capacity to a total of 1,170MW.
Ethiopia currently faces a shortage of over 140 MW of power, after water at
the currently working dams depleted alarmingly.
The Chinese National Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Corporation
(CWHEC) undertook the construction of the arch dam.
The Tekezze hydroelectric power project has four major sections: construction
of an arch dam, power house, transmission line and sub-station.