TECHNICAL APPRAISAL OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THERMAL POWER PLANTS USING AJA STEEL THERMAL POWER PLANT AS A CASE STUDY

Abstract

The main objective of any power plant is to reliably and regularly supply energy to consumers according to the load schedule. The concept of efficiency is closely interrelated with that of reliability. The indices of reliability are trouble free operation, operation characterised by low frequency of breakdown, minimum time of repairs after failures and mean length of service life between overhauls. The principal power indices of a condensing steam turbine plant are the specific consumption of steam and fuel and the thermal efficiency indices. Observation of the year 1993 shows that the total energy generated in that year amounted to 302727MWh with an average of 25227MWh per month which is 62.8% of the designed capacity. The lowest energy (22268MWh) generated occurred in July with plant factor of 54.4%. The total hours run in the year is 8760 hours which corresponds to the plant designed hours for the year with an average of 730 hours.