List of thermal power station failures

Last updated

This list is concerned with severe and abnormal power outages which caused major power failures due to damage to a single thermal power station itself or its connections which take a significant amount of time - months or years to repair.

Whilst any electric grid is vulnerable to instability after the loss of a large generating source or transmission line, this can generally be dealt with without serious inconvenience to customers. However some power stations can be exceptionally large in respect to connected grid capacity so that any failure for these proportionally large stations can be more problematic than the failure of a typically sized station.

List of failures

PlantLocationDescriptionYearReference
Vasilikos Power Station Cyprus 427.5 MW power generation loss, due to munitions explosions. Widespread continuous power shortages2011 [1]
Ferrybridge CUnited Kingdom2000 MW power generation loss, due to cooling tower collapse. No serious impact on National Grid1 November 1965 [2]
Tilbury United Kingdom750 MW power generation loss, due to fuel fire February 2012. No serious impact on National Grid1 February 2012 [2]
Shoreham United Kingdom1000 MW power generation loss, due to fuel fire February 2012. No serious impact on National GridFebruary 2012 [3]
Arnot Power Station South Africa Up to 2352 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2007–Present [4] [5]
Camden Power Station South Africa Up To 1561 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2007–Present [6] [7]
Duvha Power Station South Africa Up To 3600 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2007–Present [8] [9]
Grootvlei Power Station South Africa Up To 1180 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2007–Present [10] [11]
Hendrina Power Station South Africa Up To 1893 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2007–Present [12] [13]
Kelvin Power Station South Africa Up To 214 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2007–Present [14] [15]
Kendal Power Station South Africa Up To 4116 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2007–Present [16] [17]
Komati Power Station South Africa Up To 990 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2007–Present [18] [19] [20]
Kriel Power Station South Africa Up To 3000 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2007–Present [21] [22]
Kusile Power Station South Africa Up To 4800 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2017–Present [23] [24]
Lethabo Power Station South Africa Up To 3708 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2007–Present [25] [26]
Majuba Power Station South Africa Up To 4110 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2007–Present [27] [28]
Matimba Power Station South Africa Up To 3990 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2007–Present [29] [30]
Matla Power Station South Africa Up To 3600 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2007–Present [31] [32]
Medupi Power Station South Africa Up To 4764 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2015–Present [33] [34]
Rooiwal Power Station South Africa Up To 300 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2007–Present [35] [34]
Tutuka Power Station South Africa Up To 3654 MW Caused by unit breakdowns, leading to implementation of Loadshedding2007–Present [36] [37]
PlantLocationDescriptionYearReference
Callide C4

Power Station

Queensland

Australia

420 MW loss, due to alternator motoring to complete destruction after isolation of 220 VDC control supplybattery

NB: Castell trapped Key interlocking not installedNo Operator training provided on critical 220 VDC supply

Copilot

Indeed, the modification of the Callide C4 design, which included the removal of the Castell key interlocks, unfortunately led to a catastrophic failure. The attempt to improve the system’s redundancy and reliability inadvertently resulted in the complete destruction of the steam turbine, incurring significant costs.

The incident underscores the importance of thorough risk assessment and testing when implementing design changes, especially in critical infrastructure like power plants. It’s a stark reminder that while innovation and improvement are necessary, they must be approached with caution to ensure safety and reliability are not compromised.

The lessons learned from the Callide C4 incident will undoubtedly contribute to safer and more reliable design practices in the future. It’s a costly but valuable lesson on the potential risks of modifying established systems.

25 May 2021

continuing

15 April 2024 Callide C4.pdf

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References

  1. ↑ "Latest Blogs". Archived from the original on 2023-02-05.
  2. 1 2 Ferrybridge power stations
  3. ↑ "Firefighters tackle blaze near Shoreham Power Station". BBC News. 2 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Staff Writer. "Eskom loses three generation units — announces two nights of load-shedding" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  5. ↑ Staff Writer. "Eskom announces stage 2 load shedding on Tuesday – here is the schedule" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  6. ↑ Staff Writer. "Eskom announces load-shedding after breakdowns at two power stations" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  7. ↑ Staff Writer. "Eskom warns of stage 2 load shedding at short notice on Monday" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  8. ↑ Staff Writer. "Eskom warns of load-shedding at short notice as six units break down" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  9. ↑ Staff Writer. "Eskom warns of stage 2 load shedding at short notice on Wednesday" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  10. ↑ Illidge, Myles. "Eskom rescue plan hits first roadblock — Legal action against 3,000MW gas power plant" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  11. ↑ Bloomberg. "Blow to South Africa power supply" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  12. ↑ Staff Writer. "Eskom load-shedding strikes back" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  13. ↑ Staff Writer. "Eskom announces stage 2 load shedding – here's the new schedule" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  14. ↑ Staff Writer. "Eskom gives South Africa load-shedding breather — updated timetable released" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  15. ↑ Staff Writer. "South African energy crisis: the practical implications of the government's proposed interventions" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  16. ↑ Labuschagne, Hanno. "Expect at least 10 more days of load-shedding" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  17. ↑ Staff Writer. "Eskom ends load shedding sooner than expected" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  18. ↑ Staff Writer. "Eskom increases evening peak load-shedding stage — here's the new schedule" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  19. ↑ Staff Writer. "Eskom hopes to end load shedding next week – here's the new schedule" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  20. ↑ Mutele, Gladys. "Eskom announces Stage 2 load shedding from 4 pm until midnight". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  21. ↑ Staff Writer. "Eskom reduces Friday power cuts — here is the updated schedule" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  22. ↑ Staff Writer. "Eskom moves to stage 6 load shedding – here is the schedule" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  23. ↑ Staff Writer. "Eskom announces all-day stage 6 load-shedding — with bad news for the weekend" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  24. ↑ Omarjee, Compiled by Lameez. "Halfway there as Eskom finally switches on Kusile's Unit 3". Fin24. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  25. ↑ Vermeulen, Jan. "Stage 6 power cuts are here" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  26. ↑ Staff Writer. "Stage 2 load shedding continues on Wednesday and Thursday – here's the schedule" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  27. ↑ Illidge, Myles. "Eskom extends Stage 4 load-shedding" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  28. ↑ White, Ray. "Government announces immediate interventions to counter load shedding". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  29. ↑ Illidge, Myles. "Eskom increases power cuts to Stage 4" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  30. ↑ Njini, Felix. "Eskom seeks partners for R1 trillion energy transition". Fin24. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  31. ↑ Staff Writer. "Our plan to fix load-shedding cannot work if government does not get us capacity — Eskom" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  32. ↑ "Stage 1 load shedding on Wednesday (6 May)" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  33. ↑ Yell, Chris. "How to stop the worst load-shedding South Africa has ever seen" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  34. 1 2 "Eskom hopes to cease load-shedding in 10 days, Koeberg chief nuclear officer resigns". The Mail & Guardian. 2022-07-11. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  35. ↑ Illidge, Myles. "Eskom's breakdown crisis in two charts" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  36. ↑ Labuschagne, Hanno. "Eskom's load-shedding disaster — From bad to worse" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  37. ↑ "Eskom stage 2 load shedding on Friday (26 June)" . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
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