It’s been a long, cold winter for much of the U.S., and power plants have been affected. For example, an early January cold snap forced SCE&G’s 605-MW Williams Station offline when a transmitter that regulates pressure in the plant’s boiler system froze, according to local news reports. Four other plants operated by the utility in South Carolina also were affected by the cold.
And don’t forget the February 2011 freeze that hit power plants across Texas. That event prompted NERC to say that “repeated occurrences of generation shortfall in winter weather conditions in the southern United States indicate that institutionalization of extreme weather preparation and reporting of generation availability is needed.”
NERC said that during the 2011 Texas freeze, generation plants did not effectively utilize their cold weather maintenance practices, causing generation to be unavailable during critical peak times.
Best practices for cold weather preparation and operation is the subject of a session in the EP Theater on Wednesday, April 2 at 3:30 pm. Our presenter, Bob Burchfield, who is with North American Energy Services and serves as Plant Manager at the Faribault Energy Park & Minnesota River Station. In the past 23 years, Bob has operated combined cycle facilities in upstate New York, Texas, Oklahoma, and, most recently, Minnesota. Bob will share numerous examples of cold weather best practices and protocols he's learned while maintaining facilities in the northern U.S. and the equally challenging climates of Texas and Oklahoma.
–David Wagman, Content Director
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