IDGC of Centre - Orelenergo division is ready for the autumn-winter period

The document confirming that Orelenergo is ready for work in cold weather was handed over to general manager of the division Alexander Letyagin by Deputy General Director for Technical Issues — Chief Engineer of IDGC of Centre Sergey Shumakher.

The commission that audited the readiness of Orelenergo for the autumn and winter peak loads (AWP), included the representatives of IDGC of Centre, Property, Industry and Information Department of the Regional Administration, State Russian Emergencies Ministry, Prioksk RTN Office, Kursk TCC.

The principal areas of Orelenergo in preparation for the passage of the autumn-winter period are the execution of main production programs, which include repair and replacement of worn-out electrical grid equipment, increase the capacity of electrical networks, implementation of targeted programs to improve the reliability and automation of grid operation.

For nine months of the year within the repair and maintenance activities in Orelenergo five power transformers have been overhauled at 35-110 kV substations (SS) “Big Black”, “Sovkhoznaya”, “Bread Products”, “Factory” and “Mezentsevo” that supply electricity to Railroad district of the city of Orel and major settlements in Orelsky, Livensky, Mtsensky and Znamensky districts of the region.

In 2011 the work has been continued within the framework of the target program to improve the reliability by equipping the switch-gear cubicles at 35-110 kV substation with arc-suppressors: as of October 24, 2011, in accordance with the approved schedule of works 519 sets have been installed at 28 substations (in total annual amount of 533 sets at 29 substations). At 8 power lines of 110 kV voltage for fault location on overhead power lines (OPL) microprocessor registering devices have been installed, designed to determine the distance to the fault on overhead power lines.

The priority task in preparation for the autumn-winter period was the reconstruction within the investment program of 110 kV overhead transmission line “Steel Horse” with the replacement of the wire AS-95 for AS-185, which increased the transmission capacity of power circuits of Orel CHP.

Experts of Orel branch of IDGC of Centre made a major emphasis on preparation of the power grid for operation in extreme conditions, based on the experience of last winter. In order to improve efficiency in the organization of rescue and recovery operations for the elimination of massive violations and increase the reliability of electricity supply to Orelenergo customers the increased mobility crews have been updated to work in 0,4-110 kV grids. The number of mobile crews is 32 people. The crews are equipped with vehicles, machinery and devices needed for the performance of any complex work when troubleshooting outages. Theoretical and practical training on the specifics of operation at low temperatures was conducted for the crew staff. The branch is fully equipped with emergency reserve supplies and equipment, and its personnel are provided with winter clothing, footwear and personal protective equipment.

Much attention is paid to clearing ROWs, creating trouble-free corridors of overhead power lines passing.

The branch has set up and successfully run 4 weather stations for monitoring icing in Mtsensky, Livensky, Dolzhansky and Kolpnyansky Districts of Electrical Networks, where the maximum icing was observed on the wires. Testing schemes to melt ice with short-circuit was completed at SS 110/35/10 kV “Upper-1” and SS 220/110/35/10/6 kV “Uzlovaya”.

All completed actions raise the reliability of the electric grid of Orelenergo in the period of peak winter loads and ensure quality power supply to consumers in the region.