HYDRO POWER.

JANE MUGAMBI 10th August 2011.

As the country grapples with shortfalls in power supply due to high demand
which has resulted to rationing, a tiny village in the slopes of Mt. Kenya
forest has no worries.

After many years of struggle Kiangima-Kiangibuini community group has
successfully commissioned a micro hydro power project that has lit the
entire Thaita village in Kirinyaga County.

Started 11 years ago the group intention was to get their homes connected to
the national power grid from Kerugoya town about 15 kilometres away but this
was never to be.

The chairman John Waweru Karani recalls that they approached Kenya Power as
80 members and requested for a quotation of the cost of supplying their
homes with electricity.

“We were given a sh7.4 million quotation and we knew our quest to lit our
homes had been doomed since we could not afford that amount,” says Karani.

For some time the group became docile as the members resigned to the fate
that they would never find their homes connected to power as the money
required was beyond reach.

But along River Rutui which cuts across their village is a rocky water fall
and from the stories they have heard such natural rapid water falls were
capable of generating power.

An idea was born and the rest is history. Currently the group is generating
11 KVA of electricity which has supplied 23 homes.

Karani says that each of the 80 members have contributed sh28, 000 each and
the group also benefitted with sh800, 000 from the Kirinyaga Central
Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

“The initial capital was not easy to raise and we wrote a proposal to the
CDF which was funded to boost our savings,” says the chairman.

They constructed a power house at the base of the water cliff and a dam
across the river to collect water which is used to drive the turbines.

Project consultant Kinyua Ngigi explains that the water is fed to a 10 inch
galvanized iron pipe from the dam and cascades 14 metres to the power house
through the pipe.

“This gives the water more pressure to turn the close flown turbine in the
power house which is firmly held on the concrete floor,” noted the
technician.

The turbine turns a three phase alternator which generates electricity that
goes to the control switch before it is transmitted via high voltage
aluminum cables to the end users.

Ngigi says that the turbine is made in such a way that it turns the
alternator three times more and depending with the water pressure it could
generate up to one megawatt of electricity.

During off peak hours when consumption is relatively low extra power is
wasted through heat by six 1,000 watts ballast resistors to avoid over
damaging the alternator.

After water runs the turbine it is released back to the river and the
process is repeated every minute to keep the lights on.

“An environment impact assessment gave the project a clean bill of health
since water is only diverted to turn turbines then released to the main
river. The energy is also clean,” notes Ngigi.

The green fields of tea plantations have been dotted with electric poles
that dot the village delivering power to several home steads as far as two
kilomtres away from the power house.

“It had never come to my mind that I would one day have electricity in my
house until September last year when the dream came to be true,” says Joseph
Ndinwa a committee member.

He says that after paying the sh28, 000 one is connected to the power which
is reliable and very cheap to maintain. Kenya Power charges about sh35, 000
to connect a single phase power to an individual.

Members pay sh100 per month regardless of the electricity they have consumed
making it affordable to many villagers.

Currently the project has installed a three phase electricity line due to
limitation of funds with about 60 members waiting to be connected.

“Aluminum wires are very expensive as well as treated poles that we use to
distribute power across the ridges,” explains the chairman.

Another challenge has been the low water levels of the river which if the
dam is expanded the alternator could be maximized since now it is only
producing 110 KVA compared to 1 MW at maximum.

But it is all happiness in homes where electricity has reached them as they
no longer buy paraffin to light their houses at night.

Stanley Karimi and his wife Sarah Wanjiku life has changed since they were
connected to the power with their farm completely transformed.

Apart from watching a coloured television which was never to be found in the
village, they have bought a chuff cutter which is powered by electricity.

“We have several dairy cows and with the chuff cutter our work has been made
easier since we get our feeds from the shamba and cut them using the
machine,” says Karimi.

The couple has also invested in chicken rearing with hatcheries using
electricity and the sky is the limit for them courtesy of the investment.

Several salons, barber shops and other cottage industries are evident and
positively transforming lives in a village that could have been forgotten in
the power grid.

As some Kenyans grapple with power rationing the Thaita villagers are
enjoying electricity 24 hours and as long as the turbine roars their lives
will continue to be better in years to come.

Ends…

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