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ENERGY INTERNATIONAL
February/March 2012 www.esb.ie/em
an unprecedented disaster along the Liffey Valley. The most recent 10 Year EDSC inspection took place in May last year. In advance of the inspection in May, staff demonstrated huge pride in their stations and made a tremendous effort to prepare the stations for the arrival of the EDSC. A Project Master Plan for the visit was prepared by Andy O’Brien, the Project Manager for the EDSC inspection. This Plan included the Project Structure and Approach, the Stakeholders and their Responsibilities, the Project Safety Management Strategy, the Scope of Work, Budgets, Risks, Programme etc.
The Scope of Work for the visit included power washing of the dams and all vegetation growing along the dam side walls were removed. The communications systems were upgraded and all dam operation tasks have been fully reviewed. New handrails and access gates were erected and a large volume of painting works were completed to improve the appearance of the stations before the inspections.
The format of the inspections was agreed in advance and normally they begin with presentations by ESB staff on data recordings and readings, task histories, improvement works completed and a review of issues raised in previous inspections. The inspectors then go on site to visually examine equipment, structures and work practices. They then formally witness recording and communication activities and verify that all communication systems are working properly.
The EDSC were very happy with their findings during their intensive inspection. Gerhard M. Wedam the Electrical-Mechanical Expert on the EDSC quoted in his report that “A tremendous amount of related repair, refurbishment, renewal and improvement has been and is still being carried out. Maintenance and testing procedures are of high standards and thoroughly in line with good international practice. This overall progress deserves highest appreciation for the whole team, considering that many of the innovative ideas had arisen from the station staff upon encouragement by the responsible management”.
Turlough Hill and Liffey Stations staff were delighted with the results that confirmed that all was well at all three stations. Supervising Engineer John Hayes and Station Asset Manager Catherine Halpin (now Plant Manager at Ardnacrusha) noted that they were also very pleased with the results of the EDSC inspection, which they added were due to the huge efforts of Turlough Hill and Liffey Stations staff. The lessons learned from the inspection were presented to all of the Hydro Stations at a Forum last October. Liffey Stations have now set the bar very high in terms of the standards expected by the other Hydro locations as they face their own 10 Yearly inspections in the coming years. The EDSC was, however, only one of the highlights of the year for the Liffey Stations. There were also many other initiatives completed over the year, which included:
“There are two 15MW Poulaphouca and two 4MW generators each at Golden Falls and Leixlip.
• Water Control Equipment A huge amount of maintenance was carried out by Staff, supported by Contactors, on crest gates, disperser valves, water flow monitoring pipework etc. These efforts helped to substantially complete the maintenance due in these areas
• Poulaphouca Penstock Painting This was an extremely complex project. The old paintwork which included hazardous elements had to be shot-blasted to remove them, whilst at all times the utmost care was taken to protect the surrounding environment. This required a large scaffolding arrangement to be erected and enclosed in a tent. The spent shot then had to be painstakingly collected and taken from site by a licensed waste disposal contractor. The penstocks then had to be painted to a very precise specification to ensure that the finish will last the next 20 years. This project was also a tremendous success and was completed without safety incident, within programme and to budget
• Equipment Operational Checks and Dam Safety Readings A huge effort was put in by Operations Staff and the Civil Works Department to ensure that water control equipment was tested as required and that the required dam safety readings were taken. These tasks will help ensure that the dams and water control equipment will indeed work as required when called upon in the severest of flood conditions.
• Crane Replacements The main station crane in Poulaphouca was replaced as was the crane in the main intake house. Much of the credit here is due to Paraic Dooley who managed this contract up to the time of his appointment as Plant Manager in Erne Stations.
• Electric Vehicles Liffey Stations extended the complement of electric vehicles during the year. Turlough Hill had procured golf buggies in 2010 to transport staff in and out of the cavern and Liffey Stations further demonstrated staff commitment to sustainability through the purchase of an electric van.
The Poulaphouca reservoir and Liffey Stations have indeed had a proud history. In addition to providing a marvellous outdoor amenity, the reservoir and hydro-generation stations continue to play a major beneficial role in maintaining Ireland’s overall environmental well-being. Hydro-generation provides electricity from a clean, renewable source without producing any emissions. Little did the engineers who built the stations in the 1930s realise that they would be contributing to ESB’s target to be a carbon-neutral company by 2025.
2011 was a tremendous year for staff in Turlough Hill and Liffey Stations Staff. Tom Moran, Plant Manager noted that “The extent of work completed by staff during 2011 was hugely challenging both in terms of quantity and complexity. The fact that our 2011 work programme was completed successfully without a Lost Time Incident for the first time in our history makes this outcome even more impressive. It is heartening for staff to get the recognition for their excellent work from external bodies like the EDSC with their report and the Generation Operations Safety Awards Team with their presentation of a Merit Award to our stations. Staff can be very proud of their stations and I would like to take this opportunity to once again to extend my sincerest gratitude for their efforts during 2011”.
EM will feature the other refurbishment work in Turlough Hill and Leixlip at a future date.
