Hydro Electric Power on the Nile

It's very exciting to see the Nile being developed to generate hydro electric power.  I'd been warned to expect rolling black-outs due to power shortages, but the new Bujagali hydropower project came on line in about May this year, when I arrived in Uganda, and all my flashlights sit unused since the power situation has greatly improved.

For a long time, all Uganda's power came from the Owen Falls / Nalubale dam, the first hydro electric power station which generates 180 Megawatts and was built in 1949 - 1954 in Jinja, and dedicated by Queen Elizabeth.  The dam is the only bridge across the Nile but it is showing its age and cracks are starting to appear.  Here's the view driving over the Owen Falls / Nalubale dam and its sister Kira dam, on the other fork of the Nile.

The new Bujagali power station has five units each capable of generating 50 Megawatts, of which three have currently been brought on line.  At the peak of construction the project created 3000 jobs, so it has brought multiple benefits to the local community.

The only downside of the new dam is that it has caused the upstream river level to rise, completely submerging the Bujagali Falls, which used to be a mecca for white water rafting.  The Nile flows from Lake Victoria, at Jinja, north into the Mediterranean.  I seem to have trouble thinking of north as downstream!

This used to be a great spot for viewing Bujagali Falls and now as you can see the river is flat and calm, ideal for the fishermen in their canoes.

The rafting companies have moved downstream of the Nalubale Dam; we had lunch by these rapids at the Haven, a beautiful riverside lodge.  The next big falls are Kalagala falls, some 40km to to north.