Two daily electricity production records were achieved on 25 June at two hydropower plants – Djerdap 1 and Zvornik, said Serbian state-owned power utility EPS. Namely, HPP Djerdap 1 produced 26.336 million kWh of electricity on that day, while HPP Zvornik produced 2.827 million kWh.
These two records are significant because they are a direct result of recently performed rehabilitations and upgrades at these two HPPs. In early 2020, the rehabilitation of all four units of HPP Zvornik has been completed, while the rehabilitation of the last of six units of HPP Djerdap 1 should start soon.
At the end of January 2020, the fourth and final phase of the revitalization of HPP Zvornik was completed. New generators, under current hydrological conditions, produce about 20 % more energy than old ones. After the revitalization, which cost about 63 million euros, the total installed capacity of the plant was increased by 30 % to a total of 125.6 MW. The revitalization contributes to higher electricity production, lower maintenance costs and extends the life of this hydropower plant for another 40 years. The expected increase in electricity production of this hydropower plant on an annual basis will be up to 15 %, depending on hydrological conditions or about 70 million kilowatt-hours.
In November 2019, EPS has successfully completed the overhaul of unit A5 at hydropower plant Djerdap 1. The overhaul of the unit’s turbine cost more than 27 million euros and was performed by Russian Silovye Mashiny. This is a part of the larger project aimed at increasing power output of HPP Djerdap 1 worth 160 million euros. Units A1-A4 were upgraded in the period between 2011 and 2017, while the last, sixth unit will be modernized next year. The overhaul of unit A5 increased the plant’s output by 30 MW.