Our Energy: How It Works

Hydro power is the power generated from the process of converting the potential energy and kinetic energy of water into more easily used electrical energy. The prime movers used are the waterwheels or hydraulic turbines, which transform the energy of water into mechanical energy.

Being a run-of-river system, our plants are dependent on natural river flows. We, therefore, generate power from water without affecting its quality, the local habitat and the surrounding air. It also allows balance of river ecosystems while providing communities dependent on the river livelihood to co-exist with the run-of-river system.

Our system starts by diverting the water using a non-impounding structure called the weir. From the weir, the water enters the desander, where water sediments settle to the bottom and upstream non-biodegradable trash are filtered out. From the desander, the water is then transported through steel pipes called conveyance lines, which are laid out to follow the landscape’s contour.. Then, the water drops at an angle through a pressurized steel pipe known as the penstock. 

The penstock leads directly to the power plant which houses the turbine units and generators. The water from the penstock will impinge on the runner blades of the turbines causing a rotating motion and will convert the hydraulic energy to mechanical energy. Such energy will be converted into electrical energy through the generators. The generators are connected to a substation where the energy produced is transmitted to the main grid for distribution. At the side of the power plant is the tailrace where the water that passed through our system is brought back to the river in a much cleaner state.