HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER STATION IN NIGERIA

 

HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER STATION IN NIGERIA

INTRODUCTION

The essence of this report is to examine  the impact of hydro electric power generation, historical background, disadvantages of constructing dams, advantage/economic importance with particular reference to kainji dam.  Kainji Dam is a hydro-electric power station constructed to utilize the vast water body of the River Niger whose construction started in 1964 and was completed in 1968. The total cost was estimated at US$209 million, with one quarter of this amount used to resettle people displaced by the construction of the dam and its reservoir.

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LOCATION

Kainji Dam is located in Niger State

THE HISTORY OF KAINJI POWER STATION

Power supply in Nigeria started in Lagos in 1896, when the men came to this part of the world to exploit raw materials for their industry. As they move from the coastal area of Lagos to the interior to exploit cocoa in the West, Rubber and oil in the East and groundnut in the North, they installed more generators in Kaduna, Ibadan, Enugu and Kano. These generators were maintained and controlled by Public Works Department (PWD).

With the growth of industries and rapid urbanization; the demand for electricity rose faster than supply. This prompted the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) established in 1950 to authorize the study of the HYDRO- ELECTRIC POTENTIALS of River Niger for large and cheap supply of Electricity.

By 1962, Niger Dams Authority (NDA) was instituted by an act of parliament “the proposed Hydro Electric Station in Kainji”. The construction work was contracted to IMPREGILO as major contractor. IMPREGILO is a consortium of three Italian companies: Impresit, Giriola and Lodigiani.

Fund for the construction of the dam was provided by the following governments and international organizations: Federal Government of Nigeria, Government of Netherlands, International Bank for Reconstruction and development Institute, U.K. Export credit Guarantee Department.

Construction work on Kainji Dam took off in 1964 with an inaugural ceremony performed by the then Prime Minister of the Federation, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. In his speech, he said. This is a practical Nigerian Project that will supply Electricity to every region in the federation and create room for greater unity. The construction lasted for four years. By 1968, it was ready for commissioning with 4 sets of Kaplan turbines, Units 7, 8, 9 & 10 of 80MW each totaling 320MW. The station was officially commissioned in February 1969 by Major General Yakubu Gowon. In 1976, two additional sets of Kaplan turbine, Units 11 & 12 of 100MW each were installed, bringing the installed capacity of the station to 520MW. To further increase the installed capacity, two additional sets of fixed blade or base load machines were installed, Units 5 & 6 of 120MW each, making the total installed capacity of the station to be 760MW in 1978.

Units 1, 2, 3, & 4 are open pits fervently awaiting the installations of additional four machines to beef up power generation. The installation of these four machines will complete the design of Kainji Power Station to effectively stabilize Power Supply in Nigeria.