OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF SMALL HYDRO POWER PLANTS

Abstract

Energy is essential for the life of every living being. It is considered as an important factor which affects the growth of a nation. It is prudent to use renewable energy resources as fossil fuel reserves are fast depleting and also renewable energy use ensures sustainability. Hydro energy is one of the key renewable energy resources which is economical and nonpolluting. Small Hydro Power, has emerged as a potential energy resource. It is particularly more suitable for the energy generation in remote and isolated areas. If the potential of small hydro power can be fully utilized, dependence on the fossil fuels can be reduced significantly. Control & Operation system for SUP should be simple, reliable, cheap and with minimum interference of operating personal. There are various challenges during operation of hydro power plant like cavitation, silt erosion, civil works damage etc. Poor maintenance works results in deprived system performance, reliability degradation, efficiency decreases which indirectly increase the cost. Main objective of the maintenance is to make the system reliable and ensure that all the equipment is operating efficiently up to its design life. A suitable maintenance management system coupled with knowledgeable and trained staff can prevent various operational problems, yield longer asset life with fewer breakdowns, and thus result in lower operating costs. The conventional methods for plant control may be uneconomical if applied to SHP due to high cost, so integrated automation and control has become the solution for making it efficient and cost effective. To make a proper schedule of the maintenance small hydropower plant data was required. For that purpose a number of visits have been made to "Pathri Hydro Power Plant" located in district Hardwar. Extensive analysis of data has been carried out and it is found that break down maintenance practices are being used for maintenance. Under the breakdown maintenance, a part is repaired when it got damaged or starts malfunctioning. This approach is not suitable for hydropower plants. Condition Based Maintenance incorporates root cause failure analysis which not only detects the fault but also find it at its initial phase so that preventive measures can be initiated. It is suggested to have condition based maintenance instead of breakdown maintenance practices.