Measurement & verification of coal fired power station maintenance projects

A South African electricity utility implemented numerous power station improvement projects aimed at either increasing efficiency or output megawatts. This paper presents an overview of the process used to measure and verify (M&V) the energy and demand impacts of two projects at one of the power stations. The projects were a steam feed pump refurbishment and a high pressure turbine re-blade. The projects were M&V'd using the International Performance Measurement & Verification Protocol (IPMVP). This involves establishing a baseline model for the performance of the two units affected by the project. The post implementation performance of each unit is then compared to its baseline, after making adjustments for changes in operating conditions between the baseline and assessment periods. Both projects resulted in an increase in megawatts sent out. Additionally the turbine re-blade resulted in a 2.7% increase in efficiency.