Benguela - The Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, announced, in the municipality of Bocoio, province of Benguela, that studies are underway to interconnect the Lomaum dam ( with a capacity of 50 Megawatts) the electrical grid of the province of Huambo, passing through the municipalities of Cubal and Ganda.

João Baptista Borges acknowledged that there is a deficit in the province of Benguela in terms of energy supply, which is why this project to interconnect the Lomaun dam (located in Cubal) to Huambo will allow the supply of energy to the municipalities of Cubal, Caimbambo, Ganda and Chongoroi (Benguela).

According to the minister, this interconnection is also intended to guarantee the continuous supply of electrical energy in the event of a breakdown in the Laúca dam (Benguela and Huambo are already interconnected to the Northern system of energy production).

The governor announced that work is already underway on structuring the financing plan so that by 2020/2021 these regions benefit from increasingly cheaper energy, allowing for more connections, and gradually electrify the entire country, since without electricity there is no progress or development.

The minister said, on the other hand, that the sector he heads has taken positive steps, as the country has an installed capacity of 5,300 Megawatts, compared to 2000 MW in previous years , which translates into great growth that should extend to other regions of Angola.

As for the Caculo-Cabaça project, João Baptista Borges made it known that it is in the initial phase, with the construction of river diversion tunnels, which are essential to begin build the concrete structure. He reiterated that the construction of this dam is assured with financing from the Chinese credit line, the amount of which he did not reveal, thus aiming for its completion within the established deadlines.

With a height of 20 meters and 250 meters in length, the Lomaum dam, located on the Catumbela river (Cubal), approximately 200 kilometers southeast of the city of Benguela (capital headquarters of the province), paralyzed its activity in 1984 as a result of the armed conflict, which destroyed much of its infrastructure.

Meanwhile, in 2009 the rehabilitation, expansion and modernization program of Lomaum began, in a project carried out by the construction company GHCB Angola S.A., within the scope of a public-private partnership with the company Kanazuro Electric S.A., which should explore the electricity producing infrastructure for 20 years.

The hydroelectric complex, which before the rehabilitation had an installed capacity of 35 megawatts, now has an engine room with a frame and Francis Vertical type turbines, with two generator sets being 15 megawatts (MW) and two 10 megawatts, totaling 50 MW.

As part of this rehabilitation program, it is planned, at a later stage, to assemble the 5th generator group with a capacity of 15 MW, aiming to increase the power at the hydroelectric plant of the Lomaum.

The power plant has an open-air substation of 220 kilovolts, with two transformers of 40 MVA each. A double energy transport line was also implemented from the dam: Lomaum/Biópio (220 kilovolts of voltage) with 89.4 kilometers long, and Biópio/Benguela Sul (220 Kv) with 57 kilometers, up to the Biópio and Benguela Sul substations.

Embedded between the enormous rocks that make up the mountainous region of Cubal, 1,66 meters high above the average sea level, the Lomaum dam has a flow rate maximum 32.8 cubic meters.

The Lomaum dam has a maximum gross fall of 189.1 meters and a minimum of 167.5 meters, thus allowing, with 0.6 cubic meters of water, one Megawatt of electrical energy can be turbocharged.

Source: Angop

---