Home | Business | EEC’S PROJECT QUICK FAULT DIAGNOSIS OUT

EEC’S PROJECT QUICK FAULT DIAGNOSIS OUT

25/08/2021 08:22:00 BY ASHMOND NZIMA

Font size:

MBABANE – EEC is inviting suitably qualified and capable contractor to supply, install and commission an HMI System Solutions for its Hydro One to Hydro Three generation sets located at Edwaleni Power Station.

Online sources define a Human Machine Interface (HMI) as software and hardware that allows human operators to monitor the state of a process under control, modify control settings to change the control objective, and manually override automatic control operations in the event of an emergency. According to the invitation from the Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC), the project seeks to proactively upgrade and replace the outdated mechanical annunciators for the remaining three hydro generation sets; by supplying and installing an individual HMI system for all three generation sets. “The HMI System Solution will not only enable monitoring of alarm and trip indications, but will also provide a sequence of events functionality that will help in quick fault diagnosis of internal machine faults to reduce machine downtime.

strategic

“The project is also strategic in preparing for the anticipated future modernisation of operational systems of the Edwaleni Power Station (EPS),” reads the invitation. Giving rationale for the project, EEC said the generation department was boasting 4 x 2.5 Million Volt-Amps (MVA) hydro generation machines that were installed and commissioned at Edwaleni Power Station (EPS) in 1963 which were still operational to date. The continuous operation of these generator sets help contribute to the total EEC internal generation; helping to alleviate total electricity import costs especially during peak periods where electricity import costs are even higher during the high demand season. “Given the age of the current generation sets and associated auxiliary components, the mechanical alarm annunciation of each generation set Hydro 1 – Hydro 4 (H1-H4) has since become obsolete. “The electromechanical alarm annunciation is vital for interfacing machine processes with an Operator and a field Technician; to not only confirm normal operations but also to promptly identify and diagnose abnormal operations of the generation sets through providing alarms and trips indications,” said EEC.

Description

Bidders are required to provide full description of their proposed HMI System Solution and give a detailed description of how the solution meets system functionalities and user requirements as forwarded by the EEC. The bidder is free to provide descriptions of added system features in their proposed solution that will assist the EEC in installing a modern solution which will be compatible with future desired automation of the Edwaleni Power Station. “It is very important that a bidder clearly articulates the approach and methodology that they will implement in order to successfully install and commission the desired HMI System Solution for each Hydro generation machine,” shared EEC. Bidders are required to provide their expected project completion time. This is the total time that will be allocated for procurement, installation and commissioning activities for all three hydroelectric machines.

There shall be a compulsory site visit scheduled for September 15, 2021. The GPS co-ordinates for Edwaleni Power Station are 26.588872510291974, 31.323869096300584. The deadline for clarifications shall be one week before the closing date. All requests for clarification should be emailed to busisiwe.masangane@sec.co.sz. All bids must be in no later than noon on October 8 this year. Tenders will be opened at noon on deadline day at EEC Headquarters, Eluvatsini House, and Mhlambanyatsi Road, Mbabane.

Meanwhile, EEC operates four hydropower stations; Maguga, Ezulwini, Edwaleni, and Maguduza. They all serve as peaking and emergency power stations. These stations have a combined installed generation capacity of 60.4 Megawatts (MW) and contribute (EEC´s internal generation) 15-17 per cent of the total energy consumed in the country, with the rest imported largely from ESKOM in South Africa, and some from EDM in Mozambique.