Advanced technology will increase reliability and cut costs
Zurich, Switzerland, January 20, 2005 - ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, said today it has won a $36 million order to refurbish and increase the efficiency of a coal-fired power plant in South Africa.
The contract, signed with the state-owned utility Eskom, will extend the life span of the Tutuka 6x609 MW power plant at Standerton in the east of the country.
“Our technology will help the customer to operate the plant more efficiently and therefore reduce life cycle costs,” said Peter Smits, head of ABB’s Power Technologies division. ABB will provide one common state-of-the-art instrumentation and control system which will replace obsolete control systems currently in use at the plant’s six power generation units.
All six turbines will also be modernized with ABB’s Turbotrol turbine control system and a retrofit of the hydraulic protection system. Both measures will improve plant efficiency and cost effectiveness over the next 20 years. The project is due to be completed by December 2007.
The ABB Procontrol P system will provide a common solution for turbine control and protection, unit control and boiler protection for all six turbines and three boilers. ABB will also equip all six-power generation units with an advanced unit control solution to improve grid stability. The ABB instrumentation will lead to a higher measurement accuracy, stability and higher dynamics in transmission behavior.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 103,000 people.