Routine overhaul of thermal power plants has not been impeded by the coronavirus outbreak and projects are on schedule, the Thermal Power Plants Holding Company deputy for renovation affairs said.
“Maintenance programs have registered work-in-progress of 83% since September 2019 and work should be over by June to meet summer demand,” Aliasghar Abdoli was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Network load reached 57,000 megawatts during peak hours in the last fiscal year (ended in March) and is expected to reach 60 gigawatts this summer.
Not denying the adverse impact of the contagious disease, he said operations are being carried out without interruption, but obviously the momentum is slower compared to the past.
“Staff in overhaul teams are obliged to follow procedures set by the coronavirus special committee (wearing respirators, gloves and regular use of sanitizers and disinfectants). Personnel safety is a priority even if it means operations are delayed.”
Government funding to overhaul (123) thermal stations was close to $500 million in 2019. Thermal plants account for 80% of total power generation (84 gigawatts) in the country of 83 million people.
THPCC oversees dozens of fossil fuel power plants with installed capacity of over 65,000 MW -- the bulk of Iran's electricity demand. It also is in charge of developing 7,000 MW of gas-powered units in Shiraz, Tabriz, Kashan, Urmia and Chabahar combined cycle power plants.
According to Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, the Energy Ministry spokesman for power department, unlike 2018 when 95% of power plants’ overhaul was implemented in April, feeding (thermal) power stations with liquefied fuel (mazut) instead of natural gas from Dec 2019 to Feb 2020, has made the maintenance work longer and costlier.
In the 60-day period gas consumption in the household sector soared (at least by 25%) to reach 630 million cubic meters per day. As a result, gas delivery to plants was cut and replaced by liquefied fuels.
“This (using mazut) reduced efficiency, and to make up for it, most stations had to keep generating power and only a few were overhauled.”
Moreover, rehabilitation of plants that use mazut need more funds as machinery and equipment regularly exposed to dirty and eco-unfriendly liquefied fuels become less durable and must be replaced at shorter intervals.
Replacing Reactor Fuel
In related news, IRNA quoted Reza Banazadeh, head of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in the southern namesake city as saying that the station has temporarily been shut down for replacing reactor fuel and routine technical overhaul.
"This year's overhaul involves partial disassembly of equipment. The plant underwent full inspection and restoration in 2018," Banazadeh said.
Power production at the plant will be suspended for at least 60 days and resume in June to help increase stability of the national grid in peak hours in summer, especially in Bushehr Province where the mercury reaches 50 degrees Celsius in summer.
Detecting damaged, defective and worn-out parts as well as repair and replacement of equipment will start as soon as the nuclear feedstock is replaced, which normally takes 20 days.
"The plant has generated close to 7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in the past 300 days, of which 6.6 billion kWh went to the national power grid," he said, noting that that output helped curb emission of almost six million tons of carbon.
According to the official, experts affiliated to the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) checked the plant and confirmed that the installations comply with international norms.
WANO is a non-profit organization which unites every company and country in the world that has an operating commercial nuclear power plant to achieve the highest possible standards of nuclear safety.
