The paper considers a low head hydro units control problem by using the modern control theory for turbine governor design. The design of optimal and suboptimal turbine governor is performed by using the optimal control theory and projective controls method. Implementation of modern control theory in contemporary turbine governors is fairly easy to obtain due their realisation in digital technology. Comparison for the closed-loop system dynamic performances, shows that better results are obtained with optimal and suboptimal governors as compared to conventional turbine governors.