Review and Comment on proposed SCADA work plan and schedule for Tarakhil Thermal Power Plant

The memo is a response to Tetra Tech's request for POWER Engineers, Inc. to review the proposed SCADA upgrade program submitted by DABS to USAID. The proposed SCADA work plan and schedule are deemed to be written at a high level, lacking detail, and unclear about what will be delivered, what functionality will be restored, removed, added, improved, or degraded. The test plan is also vague, failing to specify acceptance criteria or test procedures. Furthermore, the schedule is considered aggressive and optimistic. POWER Engineers, Inc. identified several concerns regarding the proposed SCADA upgrade program. Firstly, the material purchase and installation timeline appears aggressive, unless materials are readily available in the Kabul area. Secondly, the plan for 2 servers and 9 workstations, with 4 monitors per workstation, is deemed to be impractical due to space constraints. Additionally, the UPS-battery connection is not listed on either schedule, which could take approximately 2-3 days to troubleshoot and confirm proper operation. The proposed SCADA upgrade program also lacks clarity on several key aspects, including network and security requirements, interoperability problems, and broken hardware. Specifically, the existing interoperability problem that prevents the control of a block by any other block's workstation is due to tag duplication, which occurred when PLC software was restored by operators in late 2012. Furthermore, broken hardware, including 2 failed multifunction relays and 1 failed gateway interface converter, will prevent operation of affected gensets if not fixed. The reprogramming of existing PLC logic is also a concern, as it could result in departure from designed guidelines and safety interlocks, posing a hazard to personnel and equipment. The test plan lacks detail, and it is recommended to prepare a test plan for the Employer's approval before software modifications proceed. Such a procedure should identify detailed test procedures, provide acceptance criteria, and establish procedures to restore the system to its current status should planned upgrades fail. In addition, the details of software procurement are lacking, with most of the Wonderware running at the plant being unlicensed. The use of Wonderware software in Afghanistan requires special export control paperwork, which will take time to resolve. The scope of "Adding some new features and developing some old functionalities" is unclear, and reconfiguring tags from the original German PLC code in only 10 days will be challenging. Overall, the proposed SCADA work plan and schedule for the Tarakhil Thermal Power Plant require significant revisions to address the concerns raised by POWER Engineers, Inc. The revised plan should provide clear problem statements, detailed descriptions of what the system will do when the work is complete, and a clear plan for maintaining limited operability of the plant during the reconfiguration.