Nurlan Nogayev thanked ordinary power engineers for their hard work during the elimination of accidents

Nurlan Nogayev thanked ordinary power engineers for their hard work during the elimination of accidents

On March 18, during the meeting with the participation of the Minister of Energy Nurlan Nogayev, the results of the work of the commission on the investigation of technological violations that occurred in the period from January 10 to 17 this year in the Atyrau power plant were announced, the press service of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan reports.

During the investigation, the commission found that in adverse weather conditions on January 10-11, 15-17, 2021, technological violations on the high-voltage equipment of the KEGOS JSC branch of Western MES occurred under the influence of protections due to "corona discharges", due to unsatisfactorily low insulation resistance of the equipment. Atmospheric moisture during fog and rain was deposited on the surface of the insulators, which resulted in a conductive layer, which caused numerous and widespread "corona discharges" at substations.

The development of technological violations on January 10-11 this year occurred during "the landing" of voltage in the Atyrau power plant and, in this regard, the disconnection of two turbine generators of the GTES power plant of Karabatan Utility Solutions LLP from technological protections. Due to the failure to restore generation from the GTES power plant of Karabatan Utility Solutions LLP and the occurrence of a power shortage in the power unit, the frequency was reduced to 48.9 Hz, which led to the operation of frequency prevention automation with the disconnection of the load of consumers in the amount of 97 MW, including Atyrau region-70 MW, Mangystau region-27 MW.

Due to the failure of 220 kV Inder-Atyrau overhead line, the inability to provide electricity flows from the Ural power center, the lack of "hot standby capacities" at the Atyrau CHPP and MAEK-Kazatomprom power plants, and the limited capacity of electricity flows from the Mangystau power center, there were massive interruptions in the power supply to consumers of the Atyrau and Mangystau regions.

At the same time, the commission identified systemic shortcomings in the operation of high-voltage equipment of the branch of JSC "KEGOS" Western MES, which contributed to the occurrence of technological violations.

Based on the results of the Commission's work, the main organizational and technical measures were developed to prevent such technological violations.

In addition, recommendations were developed to improve the reliability of power supply to Atyrau and Mangystau power centers.

During the meeting, problematic issues in the energy supply of the regions were considered, and as a result of the meeting, the Minister of Energy gave specific instructions to the energy enterprises of JSC "KEGOS", LLP "Karabatan Utility Solutions", JSC "Atyrau Thermal Power Plant", JSC "Atyrau Zharyk" to ensure reliable and uninterrupted supply of electric energy to consumers of Atyrau and Mangystau regions.

- I want to express my gratitude to the ordinary power engineers, those who helped to eliminate the consequences of the accident. The cause of the accident was a combination of a number of factors based on improper operation and not timely measures taken by the western branch of the MEA of KEGOC JSC, and weather events intensified and served as a catalyst for emergency violations.  We need to learn a lesson from this, - Nurlan Nogayev said. - Our task is to prevent a repeat of this in the future and to ensure an uninterrupted supply of electricity to the population.

By the way, earlier in the Atyrau region, 50 complete transformer substations were purchased for installation in the housing and utilities networks, at the moment "Atyrau Zharyk" is engaged in their installation. This measure will help to stabilize the supply of electricity in the region.

The Minister also gave instructions to ANPZ LLP, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Tengizchevroil LLP, KEGOC JSC, akimats of Atyrau and Mangystau regions to ensure stable power supply to production processes.

- Despite accidents, production processes should not stop. The Committee for Nuclear and Energy Supervision and Control has identified a number of shortcomings that enterprises need to eliminate. Connect the system operator as consultants, use all your necessary reserves. Treat this with maximum responsibility, - the Minister concluded.

(Archive photo)

Unofficial translation