ALTEN’s client is an operator focusing on electricity generation in Finland. The aim of this project was to ensure the power plant’s electricity supply. In other words, the goal was to enable the customer’s plant to generate its own electricity, no longer needing to be dependent of the country’s electricity supply. This was achieved by adding a backup generator to one of the customer’s power generation units and increasing the fuel capacity of a backup power engine to the other power generation unit.  

What originally launched this project, was the European Commission’s Emergency and Restoration Network Code, or NC ER (2017/2196), that requires all critical equipment parts of major power generation plants to run autonomously for at least 24 hours in the event of a possible power outage on the national grid.  

NC ER obliges transmission grid operators to establish plans to anticipate any unforeseen circumstances, including the following:  

 (In Finland, the transmission system operator is the state grid company Fingrid.) 

• A system contingency plan, including manual procedures and automation operations to be taken in the event of an emergency on the grid to prevent the system from falling into a state of major disturbance 

 • A recovery plan, including manual procedures and automatic operations to restore operations in the event of a major disturbance. 

A wide range of stakeholders 

The project’s stakeholders were the European Commission (NC ER, 2017/2196) and the state-owned grid company, Fingrid, that supervises Finland’s national grid and other related projects carried out in accordance with EU regulations. The back-up power machine’s manufacturer, as well as the electricity production expert, made up the stakeholders on the client’s side. On ALTEN’s side, experts in pre-planning, basic planning and implementation planning were involved. 

ALTEN responsible for the comprehensive design work 

In the project, ALTEN was responsible for comprehensive electrical, instrument and automation design work. The goal was that the customer fulfil Fingrid’s claims, prompted by the requirements set by the EU Commission.  

The project began with a mapping of the backup power needs and the backup power network, defining the different processes throughout the power generation plant. After the mapping phase, the preliminary design began, followed by the basic design. The basic design work included the preparation of procurement documents for the equipment needed in the conversion of two power generation units. After the basic planning phase, detailed change planning for all areas began. 

ALTEN’s expert in the project 

ALTEN’s expert in the project was dedicated the backup power planning. He was responsible for implementing the project’s schedule, processing the procurement material, and extending the plant’s automation and electricity distribution, generated by the backup engine.  

Neplan and Febdoc network calculation tools were used throughout the project.  

The project proceeded well. The NC ER requirement was that the project needed to be completed by the end of 2022. ALTEN carried out the project before the required date, and under the estimated working hours.