Session: Commissioning, Operation and Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plant Assisting Utilities in Achieving, Maintaining and Extending Excellence in Operation

摘要

Over the last decade or so, nuclear power plants, just like other types of electricityrngenerating plants, have been facing a number of challenges. Depending on the operatingrnenvironment of the utility, these challenges are forcing plant owners to examine all facetsrnof the operating costs. Privatization, deregulation and economics of alternative electricityrngeneration methods are exerting enormous pressure on nuclear power plants to streamlinernand improve their operational performance. CANDU reactors are no exception to thesernforces and face similar pressures. In particular, operating plants that are contemplatingrnplant life extensions are being required to clearly demonstrate the economics ofrncontinued operation over other forms of power generation available to the utility.rnOperational performance of a nuclear power plant is affected by both the plant's capacityrnfactor and its operating costs. Ideally, a plant must strive to have the highest capacityrnfactors and the lowest operating costs. To meet these apparently conflicting goalsrnrequires careful strategic planning and effective implementation.rnImprovement of capacity factors has the effect of increasing the revenues from the plantrnand as these revenues increase, the fixed portion of the plant costs including OM&Arncosts become a smaller percentage of the total revenues. Similar results can be achievedrnby aiming to reduce the plant OM&A costs. In reality, most well-planned interventionrnschemes directed at reducing OM&A costs tend to also increase the plant availability.rnFollowing plant turnover after commissioning, AECL has been supporting the CANDUrnowners and utilities with an assortment of products and services dealing with plantrnoperations and outage management issues. AECL has taken the lead in arrangingrnspecialized resources, products and services by teaming with other complementaryrnorganizations to provide a complete suite of services. Recent examples of such supportrnto operating CANDU plants will be described in the paper.rnAECL has also extended its provision of such services to accept performance risk ifrnrequired and has recently entered into contracts with its clients for major life extensionrnand refurbishment services that incorporate attractive financing and performance-based payment options. This paper will describe methods AECL has been employing tornsupport cost effective plant operations with innovative commercial models.