Afghanistan Engineering Support Program WO-LT-0070 Amendment 3 Tarakhil Thermal Power Plant Site and Power Block “B” Control Assessment Final Report

The plant's Power Block "B" control systems have been plagued by ongoing issues, preventing all six diesel generators from providing power to the grid. In response to this problem, the Afghanistan Engineering Support Program (AESP) conducted an on-site operational evaluation and troubleshooting from February 18, 2014, through March 11, 2014. The AESP team, consisting of specialized controls experts, identified the root cause of the problem as a faulty Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) in the Power Block "B" control system. To resolve this issue, the team installed a permanent patch to the PLC, which successfully restored operability to the power block. Additionally, the team resolved several other control issues and performed a general mechanical and electrical assessment of the plant. The assessment revealed that 15 of the 18 generators are now fully operational, with a plant capacity of 88 MW. However, one additional generator could be made operational by commandeering a part from another out-of-commission generator. The AESP team observed that the plant's mechanical and electrical condition was good, and senior staff operational and maintenance knowledge was satisfactory. Nevertheless, the team identified several complex control system problems that were beyond the capability of plant staff to troubleshoot and correct. The AESP team recommends a comprehensive follow-on corrective action plan to address the identified control system issues. This plan includes the purchase of various spare parts, development of a power supply management system for generator control computers, and implementation of a SCADA version control and backup system. Additionally, the team recommends the development of a training program, including mechanical maintenance training and a long-term operations and maintenance training contract. The AESP team also identified several other areas for improvement, including the upgrade of generator SCADA control software and hardware, troubleshooting and validation of switchyard control software, and implementation of a computer-based technical library and asset management system. Furthermore, the team recommends improving grid stability through upgrades to other generation and distribution components, adding additional key staff to the power plant organization, and improving internet connectivity at the plant. The AESP team is currently developing a detailed scope of work to complete most of the recommended follow-on work. The full details of the completed operational evaluation and troubleshooting, as well as the recommended follow-on work, are presented in this report.