VRA to restore 110 MW power shortfall from Aboadze Thermal Power Plant

The Aboadze Thermal Power plant in the Western Region will in about a week’s time restore the 110 MW of power it lost onto the national grid following an extensive damage caused to the Rotor- a component of one of the units of the plant.

Rotor is a moving component of an electromagnetic system in the electric motor, electric generator or alternator.

As a result of the damage, the 660MW capacity thermal power plant is currently producing 550 MW of power onto the national grid, thus, resulting in a shortfall of 110MW.

The Volta River Authority( VRA) which is the operator of the Aboadze Thermal Power Plant following the damage of the Rotor five months ago transported the equipment to the manufacturer, General Electric (GE) in Dubai, UAE, for it to be repaired.

After a successful repair works, the equipment was shipped back to Ghana at the weekend to enable VRA to fix it back to resume full capacity.

The VRA led by Nana Apau, who is the Community Relations Officer on Saturday, June 30, 2018, took delivery of the equipment at the Tema Port.

The Rotor has since been taken to Aboadze in the Western Region.

Speaking in an interview with MyNewsGh.com after taken custody of the equipment, Nana Apau who is the Community Relations Officer at the VRA explained that their engineers who were carrying out Hot Gas Path Inspection exercise on the plant noticed that the Rotor fixed at one of the units was extensively damaged and “so we removed it per the manufacturer’s instructions and sent it to Dubai for repairs.”

He explained the reason why the equipment was shipped to Dubai for it be repaired.

“It’s like you having been to an electrical workshop and you see them rewinding motors and so forth. But with the Rotor, you can’t just take it to any electrical workshop to do the rewinding. You have to take it to the manufacturer for them to do it according to their specification. So that’s how come we sent it to GE which is the manufacturer in Dubai,” he said.

“The Rotor is now repaired and tested and that is why they have brought it back,” Nana Apau added.

With the arrival of the equipment, he said, VRA is anticipating an additional 110MW of power being brought onto the national grid from Aboadze Thermal Plant.

“When we fix this equipment, we are going to add 110 MW of power to the national grid and that is a good news,” he indicated.

Nana Apau commended officials of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority(GPHA) for the safe handling of the equipment after it arrived at the port.

The Aboadze power station became operational in 1997 and is the first fossil fuel power station operated by the Volta River Authority.

The official inauguration was held on 15 October 2000 in the participation of President Jerry Rawlings.

It is a combined cycle power plant with an installed capacity of 330 MW combined by two 110 MW GE Frame 9E combustion gas turbines, and one 110 MW steam turbine generator.

The plant is fueled primarily by light crude oil.

Oil is received through a single point mooring connected to the plant by approximately 4.5-kilometre (2.8 mi) undersea pipeline.

Oil is stored in four storage tanks with a capacity of 29,500 cubic metres (1,040,000 cu ft) each.

The secondary fuel is distillate fuel oil, which is used for start-up and shutdown of the plant. As the plant has dual firing capacity, it can run also on natural gas.