Current power generation at Ruacana is sustainable – NamPower
10 January 2017 – With the steady rains that have fallen, flow of water at Ruacana, since early January this year, has insured that all four turbines at the plant are functional and in operation, according to power utility firm, NamPower.
Weekly average river flow data at the Ruacana falls has been above the required flow of 210 cubic metres per second required for the power plant to run at full throttle and the latest reading recorded last week Friday, show that 230.6 cubic metres per second of water flow was recorded.
Senior Corporate Communication officer, Gladwin Groenewaldt, clarified to the Economist that the previous reading of 730 cubic metre per sec published in their weekly update, was an error and there is no sign of an expected flood.
Groenewaldt said that currently all four turbines at Ruacana are working and are generating between 160 MW and 343 MW and these figures will fluctuate with the river flow.
Meanwhile, he said that the river flow may continue to average at 230 cubic metre per sec for the next coming weeks and the power being currently generated will be sustainable.
The hydro-power station at Ruacana has the capacity to generate a maximum of 240 MW per day, and Namibia currently has an average daily power usage of approximately 370 MW.
