LUSAKA, Zambia — In Lunzua, Northern Province, Zambia, operation of the US$51 million 14.8-MW Lunzua small hydro project will end part one of a three-phase, US$650 million construction and rehabilitation program to provide electricity to the province’s increasing population.
Success of the Lunzua station, which originally began service in 1960 providing a capacity of 750 kW to the Zambian national grid, cannot come soon enough. The small hydroelectric rehabilitation will begin generating electricity this year.
Zambia Electricity Supply Company Ltd. (ZESCO) — Zambia’s national power company — in conjunction with the Lunza Power Authority (LPA) made the announcement in Lusaka on Oct. 10. Lunzua will use water from Lake Tanganyika in the Mpulungu District.
Lake Tanganyika is part of Zambia that borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the west and Tanzania to the east. Small hydropower in the region, including Lunzua, is generated from 15-MW Chishimba Falls, 15-MW Lusiwasi Upper and 10-MW Musonda falls.
The Lunzua power project is one of several hydroelectric projects that ZESCO has contracted LPA to complete, according to several published reports. Of the contracted projects, the total installed capacity will be 247 MW, with an expected 2017 completion date, according to ZESCO.
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