Owen Falls Dam is a hydroelectric power station across the White Nile near to its source at Lake Victoria in Uganda.
The dam was built on Owen Falls near to the city of Jinja and completed in 1954. It supplies electricity to Uganda and parts of neighbouring Kenya. The rating of the station is 60 megawatts. Maintenance and availability of the station declined seriously during the government of Idi Amin.
In 1993 work started on the Owen Falls Extension project, a second powerhouse located about 1 km from the 1954 powerhouse. Major construction was completed in 1999 with first power from the project from two units in 2000. The extension has space for five hydroelectric turbine generators with three installed as of 2003. Each unit at the extension has a capacity of 40 megawatts. During official opening ceremonies in 2003, the extension was named the Kirra power station. A picture of the Owen Falls Extension power house appears on the back of the current Uganda 10000 shilling banknote. Design and project management of the station was by Acres International, Canada.
Operators of the Owen Falls hydroelectric stations must regularly clear water lillies from the intakes of the stations.
Further hydroelectric development in Uganda is controversial because at least one technically feasible site (Bujugali Falls) is of great cultural importance.
External link
Acres Group description of the Owen Falls Extension project with pictures
