Presentation: Optimization of Operation and Maintenance in Thermal Power Plants using the PI System

The Kansai Electric Power is the second largest electric utility company in Japan. The supply capacity is 134.5 GWh (fossil-fired:113.4 GWh) which is 16 % of Japan's total as of 2015. With deregulation in April 2016, power companies in Japan are required to respond flexibly to the market demand and enhance price competitiveness at the same time. In order to address these challenges, we decided to install PI system for the first time into thermal power plants in Japan since June 2016. Using PI system, we aim to improve the availability of our facilities and reduce the maintenance cost through early detection of equipment abnormality and extending maintenance cycle by strengthening the condition monitoring of facilities. We have therefore tried improving prediction accuracy of the lifetime of facilities based on real-time condition and past failures. In this talk, we will introduce the above attempt and the future project using PI system.