NEC has successfully completed the rehabilitation of Vacha 1 HPP

The Executive Director of NEC Eng. Martin Georgiev celebrated on April 26 the official completion of the rehabilitation of Vacha 1 HPP. The event was held at the headquarters in the presence of representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, representatives of the rehabilitation contractor consortium and employees of Vacha 1 HPP.

In his welcome, Engineer Georgiev pointed out that the successful realization of the plant's rehabilitation is of key importance for its work in the future. The replaced equipment and systems are from the commissioning of the plant in 1933 and 1953, and the new modern equipment will contribute to the more reliable and efficient management of the hydroelectric plant.

The scope of the rehabilitation of Vacha 1 HPP includes design, manufacture, delivery, installation, technical supervision, adjustment, testing and commissioning of new equipment for 110 kV switchgear and controlgear, HPP control system, excitation systems, turbine regulators, relay protections, turbine equipment of hydro units ХА3 and ХА4, complete replacement of ХА2 with a new one, construction of a new control room of the hydropower station, etc. On April 11, 2023, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works issued the National Electric Company a permit to use Vacha HPP 1. On April 20, the final tests were carried out, which successfully completed the last stage of the project for the rehabilitation of the 110 kV switchgear and controlgear of Vacha HPP 1 and part of the HPP systems under common control.

The rehabilitation is part of the Project for the Rehabilitation of Hydropower System Facilities, co-financed with grants from the EBRD-administered "International Decommissioning Support Fund for Kozloduy NPP Units" (KIDSF) and the company's own funds. KIDSF is funded by the European Union and the following donors: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In December 2022, the KIDSF Donors Assembly approved an extension of the grant agreement signed with NEC. This allows the company to use the granted grants to complete the projects for the rehabilitation of production facilities by the end of 2023.

Vacha 1 HPP was put into operation in 1933 and this year marks a remarkable 90-year anniversary. Vacha 1 is a derivation hydroelectric power plant with an installed capacity of 14.5 MW and is part of the lowest stage of the Dospat-Vacha hydropower cascade together with the Krichim Dam, the Krichim Hydroelectric Plant and the Vacha Hydroelectric Plant 2. The average annual electricity production from the plant for the last 6 years is 27 GWh.

On 27.08.2019, a contract was signed between NEC EAD and the KONČAR KET - ČKD BLANSKO consortium for the Vacha 1 HPP for the Rehabilitation of the 110 kV switchgear of the Vacha 1 HPP and part of the HPP systems under common control.

The project aims to increase operational reliability and improve plant management by replacing depreciated equipment.

The following general goals are set in the implementation of the rehabilitation:

- best possible solutions for safety and health

- increasing the reliability of the facilities

- minimal impact on the environment

- high energy production

- low energy consumption for own needs

- high degree of flexibility in energy production

- highest level of automation

- short start and stop time

The Kozloduy International Fund, administered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, was established in June 2001 as a program of the European Commission and other European donors to help the Bulgarian government cope with the early closure and decommissioning of the four units of Kozloduy NPP and subsequent compensatory measures in the energy sector.

NEC has signed a grant agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as KIDSF Administrator for the rehabilitation of the Belmeken-Sestrimo-Chaira hydropower complex and the rehabilitation of the 110 kV switchgear of the Vacha 1 HPP and other HPP systems under common control. The total budget of the project is EUR 37 million, of which 70% (EUR 26,580,000) is financed by KIDSF and 30% by NEC. The objectives of the project are to increase the reliability and efficiency in the management of facilities and the security of the country's electricity supply.

With its 31 HPPs and PAVECs with an installed capacity of 2737 MW in turbine mode and 931 MW in pump mode, NEC is the largest producer of energy from renewable sources in the country.