The thermal power plant has also completed repairs on its four generating units which carry load during the summer peak months. Reliable operation of the equipment will allow the power plant to step up electricity generation to meet the country's increased energy demand during the period when there is an active use of air conditioning systems and ensure reliable energy supply during the heating season.
In July DTEK Energy's thermal power plants generated and fed into the Ukrainian grid a total of 2.834 bln kWh of electricity. This is a 12.2% gain month over month.
"By expanding the production of high volatile steam coal and purchasing anthracite from the South Africa, DTEK created the necessary stocks of coal at the power plants to be used during the summer peak consumption. We continued supporting Ukraine's stable energy supply while at the same time strengthening its energy independence. Therefore, the supply of electricity and heat to Ukrainian consumers will be getting more and more reliable," said Sergey Kurilenko, Electricity Generation Director, DTEK Energy.
Completion of the Unit 1 overhaul means that the electric grid will get back 195 MW of capacity, which will allow DTEK Burshtynska TPP to raise electricity generation to meet the national needs. This unit had its boiler, turbine, generator and electrostatic precipitator repaired. In order to reduce ash emissions into the atmosphere, the electrostatic precipitators of Unit 1 had 1 000 collecting electrodes replaced, which significantly enhanced the level of flue gas treatment and as a result mitigated the adverse impact upon the environment.
As a whole, DTEK Burshtynska TPP as part of the current repair campaign costing more than UAH 510 mln performs the following: they have completed a major overhaul of Unit 1, minor repairs on Units 5, 6 and 9, and, by the end of the year, it plans to carry out a mid-term overhaul of Unit 11 and complete routine maintenance on another seven generating units. The key result of such repairs is reliable operation and better environmental performance of all power plant equipment.
"In parallel with the annual repair campaign on the units, as part of preparations for the winter period, DTEK Energy has invested additional UAH 1.1 bln in the retrofit of Unit 10 scheduled to be completed this December. The primary goal of the retrofit is to achieve an increase in unit capacity from 195 MW to 210MW, equipment service life extension by 15 years and improvement of its technical and economic performance. Replacement of the electrostatic precipitator continues. Upon its completion, particulate emissions will go down to 50 mg/m3, which is in line with the European and Ukrainian standards," said Bogdan Getman, Chief Engineer, DTEK Burshtynska TPP.
It is noteworthy that since the privatisation of the Burshtynska TPP (since 2012 and up to now), DTEK has invested over UAH 3 bln in revamping of the equipment and overhauling of the generating units.