SUVA (Pacnews) — Fiji Electricity Authority expects to save around F$800,000 ($400,000) annually, while improving the efficiency of its power supply with the completion of maintenance works carried out at the country’s sole hydropower plant.
Maintenance work involved the removal of mud “build-up” around the inner surface of the 5.36-kilometer long conduit supplying water from the Monasavu dam to the generators. Although this is not the first time the tunnel has been cleaned, it’s the first time for the 848-meter long middle section of tunnel.
FEA had to resort to specialized Auckland-based Inter Clean to clean out the middle portion of the tunnel because of the difficulty in accessing it. The section is sitting at 40 degrees.
FEA General Manager Generation Kasa Saubulinayau said the section of the tunnel has not been maintained since the hydropower operation at Monasavu was commissioned in 1983.
He said the resultant “build-up” in this area over the years has lowered power output efficiency from 82.3 megawatts to as low as 72 megawatts. However, the cleaning of the accessible horizontal sections of the tunnel at either ends, has in the past increased power output to 77 megawatts.
All major centers on Viti Levu-the largest island in the Fiji group-switched to diesel-generated power over the Queens Birthday long weekend, when FEA shut down operation at its Monasavu Hydropower plant.
The hydropower operation supplies about 76 percent of power need of Viti Levu Island alone.
