Applying THERMAC To Recover Lost Megawatts At Power Plants

Abstract

THERMAC is an integrated software tool for monitoring and evaluating the thermal performance of power plants, combining smg analytical capabilities with a graphical user interface and database. The software has been installed, in either on-line or off-line mode, at more than 30 nuclear and fossil-fired plants by 19 utility and non-utility customers in the USA, Canada and Japan. THERMAC analyzes plant measurements to evaluate thermal performance at both the component and system levels. THERMAC employs actual plant data and statistically accounts for missing or inconsistent data. The software does not require any additional plant instrumentation to perfonn analyses. THERMAC can archive historical data as well as generate trend plots and performance reports. The graphical user interface is employed to build plant specific models. “What-if‘ studies can be conducted to predict the impact of corrective action on thermal performance, prioritize plant maintenance actions, and study alternate system designs. . One way in which THERMAC can be employed to reduce operating and maintenance (OM yet, these can be identified and quantified using THERMAC. This paper describes THERMAC, its methodology, -and some experiences that utilities have had in using the software to monitor and analyze plant performance, identify equipment problems, and assess the impact on lost generation. I. hITRODU(JTI0N New federal regulations and the power industry’s responses to those regulatory changes will alter the utility environment in the coming decade. The most pervasive changes will come from the Energy Policy Act of 1992. This act affects utilities in many ways, but the most important changes concern power generation sources. Utilities must now purchase power from all fms that offer to sell it, and the utilities must sell the cheapest power to their customers first. Hence, any independent power producer (IPP) that can generate and sell power at a rate lower than the utility’s must be afforded access to the utility’s transmission lines; moreover, the IPP’s power must be sold before that generated by the utility. The utilities will thus be harder pressed to sell their own electric generation.