Loup Canal System
Construction of
the 35-mile canal
system began August 21, 1934 and the first generation
occurred on March 5, 1937. The hydroelectric system begins
five miles southwest of Genoa at the Headworks Dam where water
from the Loup River is diverted into Loup Power's man-made
canal to be used for hydro generation and irrigation. After
being diverted into the canal, water begins its journey to
the Monroe plant. The water then continues in the canal, reaching
two regulating reservoirs north of Columbus: Lake Babcock
and Lake North. These lakes cover 1,100 acres of surface water
and the area is also used for recreation. After passing through
the Monroe Powerhouse, the intake canal between the lakes
and the Columbus Powerhouse is one-and-one-half miles long.
After generating power at the Columbus facility, the water
enters the Tailrace Canal
and flows into the Platte River and eventually joins the Missouri
and Mississippi Rivers, and finally the Gulf of Mexico.
Powerhouses
Loup Power District
operates two hydroelectric plants, one near Columbus and the
other near Monroe. The Columbus Powerhouse,
one of the larger water-powered generating plants in Nebraska,
has three turbo-generators and is capable of generating 40,000
kilowatts. The Columbus Powerhouse operates 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, 365 days a year. The Monroe Powerhouse
has three turbo-generators with a generation capacity of 8,000
kilowatts. The two powerhouses generate a combined average
of 133.5 million kilowatt hours annually. Your electric service
bill is based on the number of kilowatt hours used. A kilowatt
is equal to 1,000 watts; a kilowatt hour is equivalent to
1,000 watts used in one hour.
Loup began a major upgrade of the Columbus and Monroe Powerhouses
in March 2004. The work, estimated to cost $15 - $16 million,
will improve the efficiency and reliability of the hydro plants.
Loup Power District's power plants have been in operation for
almost 70 years. Currently, the Monroe Powerhouse has generated
more than 1.7 million megawatt hours, while the Columbus Powerhouse
recently surpassed 6.8 million megawatt hours.
The rehabilitation, which has been under examination for
several years, became a priority for several reasons including:
- The cumulative effects of age indicated a decline in efficiency.
The rehabilitation is expected to increase energy output
approximately ten percent in an average year.
- Analysis demonstrated that even with increased maintenance,
operation problems could be expected to increase and could
cause the number of generating unit outages to increase.
Increased outages cause increased operation and maintenance
costs, and increased production costs for the power system.
- The scarcity of parts for a Depression-Era generation system
would continue to make maintenance challenging. To date, Loup
employees have fabricated parts where possible to keep the
units operating.
- Because Loup utilizes a renewable resource in its operation,
the total energy output replaces 74,500 tons of coal.
To date, the District has replaced the governors and installed
solid-state excitation units at both powerhouses. Other equipment
upgrades include trash rakes, sump pumps, station service panels,
battery banks and air systems. In addition, replacement of the
transformers and circuit breakers are in process. Additionally,
the rehabilitation means continued operation of the recreational
aspects of Loup's canal system. Loup maintains five parks, which
are open to the public at no charge, in its four-county service
area.
Hydroelectric
Power
Hydroelectric power
utilizes the force of falling water to produce electricity.
The force turns the wheel or turbine, which turns the generator
to produce electricity. The turbine is a wheel with special
blades attached to a shaft. The force of the water flowing through
the turbine causes the shaft to rotate. The generator is a machine
that converts the mechanical energy of a rotating turbine shaft
into electrical energy. The water used for hydroelectric generation
is not changed in any way. The natural cycle of evaporation
and precipitation assures a continued supply of water for power.
Hydropower is a renewable, economical source of electricity.
Hydropower may be a primary or a reserve source of electricity.
The Columbus hydro system is used during high demand hours to
provide extra power to meet high demands for electricity at
certain periods of the day. Hydropower can provide electricity
immediately.
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