Alstom's Control And Instrumentation System For Medupi Power Plant Ready For Synchronization

Alstom’s work on Eskom’s Medupi power station in South Africa took a major step forward for Eskom’s target date for synchronisation in December 2014 with the successful completion of a Site Integration Test (SIT). The test validates and verifies the Distributed Control System (DCS) installed by Alstom, certifying that it is ready for First Fire and Synchronisation .

The SIT underlines that Alstom’s Distributed Control System, which plays a key role in the safe and reliable operation of the plant, is performing according to requirements and is now ready for commissioning of the new 6x800MW plant first unit (Unit 6) near Lephalale in the Limpopo province.

The Site Integration Test involves more than 100 tests and inspections and is carried out once the system has been installed on site. It involves 70,000 hardwired inputs/outputs and was completed between 28 July and 5 September 2014. These included the connection of the Control Room workstation to the local area network (LAN) and central storage and control of the system software as well as the demonstration of the DCS ability to carry out fault finding. It also comprised the database access by an Eskom personal computer with Microsoft-based applications, the verification of redundancies in the DCS systems and subsystems and the verification of system interfaces (e.g. interfaces with the Auxiliary Boiler, the Turbine Control and Protection System, the Boiler Protection System, etc.).

“The success of the tests was a multinational team effort”, says Alstom Project Director Rafael Alvarez. “We drew on expertise from Alstom employees around the world to solve challenges and to deliver for our customer”.

The teams on site for the test involved personnel from South Africa, France, Philippines, India, UK, Poland, Egypt, Ukraine and Malaysia.

The success is testament to Alstom’s expertise in Control and Instrumentation technology, which was recently proven by milestones reached at two major Alstom power plants: the Manjung power plant in Malaysia and the Šoštanj Iignite steam power plant in Slovenia.

Alstom’s scope at Medupi consists in the supply, installing and commissioning of the Turbine Island and the plant control system.