Kengen plans to improve Masinga Dam’s water carrying capacity by raising the dam wall, resulting in a 22 percent increase in capacity.
The proposed project, which is now in the feasibility study stage, will boost the Dam’s carrying capacity of 1.5 billion cubic meters.
During a media tour conducted by the firm, Johnson Waweru Ndege, Masinga Power Station Chief Engineer, claimed that raising the dam’s water carrying capacity will allow the company to produce full capacity power for a longer length of time, hence increasing revenue.
According to Ndege, when there are unpredictable rains, the water level drops below normal, causing full-capacity power production to be short-lived.
Ndege said that as the water is released from Masinga Dam, it goes to Kamburu Dam, which generates 94 megawatts, before pouring into Gitaru Dam, Kenya’s largest power producing dam with a 225 megawatt installed capacity.
Water snakes its way from Gitaru to Kindaruma Dam, which has a capacity of 72 megawatts, before going to Kiambere Dam, which has a capacity of 168 megawatts, before being redirected to the river and emptying into the Indian Ocean.
However, plans are in the works to build new dams downstream to capture water from the Thura-Ena, Mutonga, and Kathita rivers, which create floods in Tana River County.
With input from KNA
