NEC changes strategy for replacing two hydroelectric units at the Chaira pumped storage power plant

After several failed attempts to find a contractor to replace the first and fourth hydroelectric units at the Chaira pumped storage power plant, the National Electric Company (NEC) will change its strategy. Instead of one large contract for all activities – construction, engineering, etc. – three smaller contracts will be announced, one for each individual activity related to the restoration of the units. This was announced to journalists on Saturday by the acting Minister of Energy Traicho Traikov and the Chief Technical Director of NEC Krasimir Dimitrov, who were inspecting the plant.

In addition, Traikov announced that the third hydroelectric unit will be returned to operation in April, after the dry tests currently being conducted following its repair are completed.

At present, only the second hydroelectric unit with a capacity of 210 MW, whose repair was completed in the middle of last year, is in operation. The project was carried out by ABB-Voith.

New strategy for the first and fourth hydroelectric units

The energy minister said that immediately after taking office two days ago, he asked for a report on the reasons for the failure of the public procurement. He refuted speculation that the failures were due to insufficient funds – the budget was BGN 242 million. And in the first attempt to find a contractor, even less money was allocated – BGN 220.5 million.

I have information from the potential contractors, which are not many, primarily the Japanese company Toshiba, that the construction and installation risks were the problem," said the minister.

Krasimir Dimitrov explained that work is currently underway to change the initial strategy and he expects the new one to be successful.

The reasons for the failure of the tender have been analyzed and are related to the fact that, in addition to the repair of the actual equipment, there is a significant component of construction and installation work that specialized contractors for equipment repair would not want to take on as a risk," Dimitrov explained.

In reality, the large order is divided into three separate parts with different values, the first of which will probably be announced in the next two months.

The first activity is to analyze the construction risk. The second is to dismantle the equipment "in an absolutely safe manner so as to ensure the safety of the entire plant." And the third is the manufacture, delivery, and installation of new equipment.

The first step is for hydro unit 4. After that, based on the roadmap that is being developed and is pending final approval, the others will be planned," Dimitrov said.

Quick repair of hydro unit 1

While a sustainable solution is being sought for hydro units 1 and 4, work is being done in parallel on a "quick" repair of unit 1. It is expected to be back in operation next year, but Dimitrov explained that this would be a temporary solution to ensure the unit's operation for about five years. Toshiba is the contractor for the project.

Complete replacement of the hydroelectric units would guarantee their operation for decades to come.

Translated with DeepL.