The company Thermal Power Plant “ Nikola Tesla” (TPPNT), which consist of 4 power plants TPP TENT A, TENT B, TPP Morava and TPP Kolubara, can be satisfied with the year behind us, given the circumstances and the catastrophic floods in 2014. TPPs TENT company produce more than 50% of Serbian electricity balance.
As stated by Čedomir Ponoćko, the Director of TPPNT, the production and transport of coal from MB “ Kolubara” and the production of electricity in TPPNT from that coal have been reduced for a certain amount due to floods.
– We had to change our plans for 2014 because of the flood. According to the changed plan, TPPNT will fulfill nearly 100 percent of the plan. Due to the lack of coal, EPS was obliged to import a certain amount of electricity and it had its own financial result.
However, considering all circumstances, employees of TPPNT can be very pleased with what was done. Whenever it was necessary, we were on the grid – says Mr.Ponoćko. – In the past few months we even had surpluses of coal, so we were able to produce more than we normally used to. We were very lucky because there were neither very cold days, nor large power consumption.
Director of TPPNT points out that the catastrophic floods of May certainly made the worst impression of the year. According to him, TPPNT had more luck than the open pit mines of “Kolubara”.
– During the flood, we were making right and timely decisions. When I saw, on that day, that the water in the substation arrived at ten centimeters from the bare conductors in the distribution cubicles, it was perfectly clear that we had to shut down the power units TPPNT in order to prevent much greater damage – says Mr. Ponoćko.
– And we made such a decision. It was very good because the turbines have their own technology of shutting down. A turbine cannot be shut down in one day. It must cool slowly, five to six days, and only when the temperature lowers from 550 to 120 degrees, it can slowly stop. If the turbines had cooled suddenly, they would have been ruined. And the delivery time for these turbines is about two years, not counting the huge necessary funds.
Mr. Ponoćko points out that putting the power units into operation was also a great achievement, due to the fact that there are no boiler rooms in TPPNT and power units A1 and A2 are backup boiler rooms used for putting the power units into operation.
– Since the power unit A2 was under overhaul, we had to put A1 into operation first. Within the first scenario, the only possibility was to do that with a steam locomotive. However, our people suggested, given that the TPPNT B was in operation, that we should transport hot heavy oil from B to A and to use it to put the power unit into operation. It has never been done before – explained Ponoćko.
From the private company “Golf šped” we provided tanks which could transport heavy oil of the temperature up to 200 degrees. We transported heavy oil, poured it over the existing heavy oil in TPPNT A, where the temperature was about 60 degrees, and they mixed.
We got the heavy oil of the temperature around 120 degrees, which was enough to fire the boiler. We were able to put power unit TPPNT A1 into operation before the deadline. Putting the power unit TPPNT A1 into operation, after the flood, was a tough test for many of us, which, in my opinion, was successfully passed. We did not get any praise for it, but it is important that we finished the job successfully. Expertise and knowledge of our great engineers deserve the credit for this.
Mr. Ponoćko points out that 2015 will certainly be much more difficult in terms of finance than the last. He says that if, in 2015 TPPNT manages to carry out the planned overhaul of the power unit TPPNT A2, install electro filter and several other important works in the TPP “Morava”, that will be a hit.
The end of the capital overhaul of the power unit of TPPNT A3 is getting near.
– Works on the power unit TPPNT A3 started on 1st July last year and its putting into operation is expected no later than the end of January. During the overhaul, the biggest part of the generator was replaced and now all three turbines are basically new. Works on burners were carried out and kilometers of pipes were replaced- says Mr. Ponoćko.
