On October 7, 2009, Albert Koch from Switzerland founded the Hydroelectric Power Station in Tulila, about 30 kilometers from the main convent in Chipole. The power station started operating in 2016. The power produced is being sold to Tanesco (the state owned power company). It supplies power to the Songea Municipality including the surrounding rural areas and has since improved the life of thousands of people. The Tulila power station is operated by trained expert St. Agnes sisters.
This success story would have been unthinkable without the Benedictine Sisters of St. Agnes. The 370 nuns of the Chipole Convent have dedicated their lives to the people in the region. They give orphans a home, enhance the education of children and young people, and ensure basic health care for the population in rural areas.
Hydropower expert and investor Albert Koch was extremely impressed by the selflessness of the nuns and their unequivocal will to change. Having travelled to Tanzania to determine whether the 400kW hydroelectric plant, which had been used by the nuns to supply electricity to the convent for around 15 years, could be expanded, he started thinking on a larger scale together with the Benedictine nun Yoela Luambano: a more powerful hydroelectric plant would not only improve the financial situation of the nuns, but also the lives of the people in the region.
Sister Luambano devoted herself to their mutual vision: it soon became clear that water rights could be obtained from the government, a potential customer was found as the state-owned electricity supplier planned to purchase electricity externally to feed into the local grid, and the financing was secured with loans and a multi-million investment by Albert Koch himself. A suitable location was also soon identified: the Ruvuma River flows into the region of Tulila just a few hours away from the convent.
Two turbines with a total output of 5MW have been installed and meanwhile produce around 36GWh – as soon as the demand for electricity increases, the plant can be expanded with a third turbine. The successful installation was a true team effort: the nuns supported the project team with administrative and logistical support, food and accommodation. They even supervised the blasting works – one of the nuns is a trained explosives engineer. The Power station is on the grid since 2016 and the nuns are responsible for all operating business with support from Switzerland by the Foundation from Albert Koch. Sister Yoela is confident that the sales of the surplus energy will allow them to pay themselves a wage for their efforts.
