By NDUBI MVULA –
THE Maamba Collieries Limited thermal power plant has been synchronised with the Zesco national power grid, Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines-Investment Holdings (ZCCM–IH) has said.
The occasion took place on Sunday at 12:57 hours.
“We are pleased to inform you that Unit 1 (150MW) of Maamba Collieries Coal Fired Power Plant (CFPP) was synchronised with the national grid on Sunday, 24 July, 2016 at 12:57 hours successfully,” reads a statement issued by ZCCM–IH.
The statement says prior to this, Turbine 1 was rolled at 16:45 hours on July 23, and the generator open circuit or excitation system tests were conducted during the night on the material day and the following morning.
ZCCM-IH owns 35 per cent of Maamba Collieries Limited.
It was recently reported that an impressive array of investors and lenders had enabled Maamba Collieries to launch and implement an ambitious power project that makes use of low-grade coal.
The company was incorporated in 1971 under the ownership of the Zambian Government, and has since become the largest coal mining company in the country, boasting an opencast coal mine situated near Maamba village in Sinazongwe District, in Southern Province.
The project is the first of its kind in Zambia as it provides a dependable and sustainable base-load power source, which is crucial to the country’s energy security.
It also provides Maamba Collieries with infrastructure that is ready to scale up in line with the growing demand for power not only in Zambia but in the entire sub-Saharan region.
There are two key elements to the project with the first being a coalmine revival programme, which includes the establishment of a coal handling and processing plant.
The second and more important feature is the setting up of a 300MW mine mouth (composed of two 150MW sites) coal-fired power plant, along with a 48km, 330kV double circuit transmission line and raw water pump house with a 21km-long pipeline.
The power plant’s capital expenditure is estimated at US$738 million, and the coal mine’s capital expenditure, including mine establishment expenditure, is estimated at $105 million, creating a total capital expenditure of $843 million.