The Minister of Energy and Mines of the government of Abinader, Mr Antonio Almonte, stated last weekend that he will not receive the two units of the Thermoelectric Power Plant Punta Catalina (CTPC) due to serious construction defects, mainly in the boilers.
This claim is an additional misconception of Mr Almonte who insists on lowering that power plant to reduce its presence in the electricity market, which would favor private generators selling on the spot market, and create the conditions to sell it . the price of a dead cow.
CTPC’s Unit 2 performance between April (date of receipt of that unit) and December 2020 was excellent. According to the Coordinating Authority’s indicators, the availability of this unit in the National Interconnected Electric System (SENI) was 96.2% during that period. This figure is well above the average availability percentage of this type of installation, which is around 87%, showing that Unit 2’s boiler, like Unit 1’s, is correctly constructed and complies with the ASME code, as it was certified on June 18, 2018 by its manufacturers (American Babcock & Wilcox) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
The dismissal of the chief of operations superintendent, the maintenance inspector, the head of the air quality control system (AQCS), and other technicians, carried out by the Punta Catalina extermination team, made up of the Almonte and Canario coalition, has weakened the ability to create. timely decisions that ensure proper operation and maintenance of these units.
The boiler failure that occurred in January 2021 can be considered a typical failure of new thermoelectric power plants in the first two years of commercial operation. Various studies that analyze the behavior of boilers show that for various reasons, between two and four leaks occur per year, depending on the maintenance program and good operational management. This failure, unlike those that occurred in a generator, is considered to be of high probability and low impact during off-duty hours. In general, a pin can be repaired within 5 to 8 days. In the case of Unit 2 at Punta Catalina, the improper handling of the unit, which continues to operate for several hours after the leak, has resulted in more than 30 boiler pipes being affected. If the operation and maintenance superintendents, who have more experience and leadership than any other technician in the factory, had not been fired, the operation would have stopped immediately and further damage to the boiler would have been avoided. This means that the decision to fire those personnel is the reason that CTPC Unit 2 has been out of service for more than two months. The head of the Punta Catalina extermination team, Mr. Almonte, confirms that the boiler’s original puncture could be due to the unit operating at a capacity above adequate. When Almonte was in the opposition, on the advice of Mr Canario, he pointed out on several occasions that the Punta Catalina units can only be used to produce a gross power of 360 MW and now, as Minister of Energy and Mining , he keeps repeating his lie. On February 8, I indicated to Almonte and the country that the performance tests conducted by the US company McHale Associates have shown that each unit has a net power rating of more than 345 MW, which is compatible with a gross power rating of more than 376 MW. To confirm that Almonte is wrong, the boiler manufacturer Babcock & Wilcox sent a letter to the CDEEE on February 12, 2021 stating that the boilers have the capacity to provide the steam needed for the turbine. And the generator, both manufactured by the American company General Electric (GE), produces a gross capacity of 376 MW. With that letter Babcock & Wilcox gave me the reason in that debate about the size of the boilers. Rather than making the announcement public, Mr. Almonte this and he is silent. That explanation from Babcock & Wilcox, as well as from GE and McHale, will dissuade Almonte from running the units below the 376 MW capacity, benefiting inefficient private generators that produce electricity at a much higher marginal cost than in Punta Catalina. spot market at an exorbitant price, at the expense of public finances and the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves.
After showing that Almonte’s statement on the size and quality of the boilers at Punta Catalina is a misconception, I move on to a comment on a more important topic that he did not want to reveal to the public. During the start-up process of Unit 2, which according to Almonte took place on March 4 this year, the presence of sodium chloride in the condensation water was detected. This means that during start-up there may have been a crack in the condenser that allows seawater to enter the water supply circuit, which is serious as the salt affects the quality of the pipes from the inside. Since then, the CDEEE has taken steps, so far unsuccessfully, to eliminate the presence of sodium chloride in Unit 2’s boiler. This is an additional reflection of the consequences of the dismissal of key personnel in the operation and maintenance of the installation. central. If the goal is to destroy Punta Catalina, the squad that Almonte commands has proven to be the most qualified to do so.
In his most recent statements, Mr Almonte confirmed the need to establish responsibilities for what happened in Punta Catalina, and I fully agree with that. As a result, it can be determined that the seriousness of what happened in Unit 2 in January of this year is due to improper operation and maintenance that has been recorded since August last year.
Finally, it is regrettable that President Luis Abinader delivered one of the most valuable state assets in the Dominican Republic, with a construction value of $ 2,454 million, to a human team without any qualifications and experience in operating and maintaining a power plant with the advanced technology from the Thermoelectric Power Plant of Punta Catalina. We are witnessing the gradual and systematic destruction of this valuable state asset, which apparently has no mourners in government. Meanwhile, there is a party at the spot market, where they toast to the excellent performance of the Punta Catalina destruction squad.