HPP Trebješnica (HET) rolling out generator, turbine refurbishment

A 50-year old hydropower system in Bosnia and Herzegovina needs EUR 10 million for a major overhaul that would extend its operations for another generation with improved performances.

In the words of Ilija Tamindžija, executive manager for production and technical works in ZP Hidroelektrane na Trebišnjici a.d. (HET), the funds would be used to refurbish generators and turbines to boost capacity by up to 10% even at the smallest utilization coefficient.

The subsidiary of MH Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske MP a.d., flagship utility of one of the country’s two entities, will provide EUR 1.2 million, and 60% of the rest will come from a loan, while donors will finance 40%, the article adds. Phase 3 includes the renewal of one generator, and another two will be refurbished in the subsequent phase.

Three tenders

The project includes the reconstruction and an upgrade of the management building, the walls on river banks and other facilities.

Tamindžija said a new façade is due, alongside the replacement of shafts, the heating and cooling system and the works on the surroundings. One tender has been launched for the reinforcement of banks and the wall, while another is for the surrondings and the openings and the third one is for the upgrade and the exterior side of the headquarters. The operation should be complete by the end of the construction season, the report notes.

Hydrology

Tamindžija said accumulation is ten metres below plan and that the unfavorable hydrological situation from last year continued. In his words, the firm generated 50% below the outlook for the first quarter, as it’s unprofitable to produce for more than the local needs.

HET operates Trebinje 1, a 180 MW hydropower plant with three units, Trebinje 2, which has only 8 MW, and one out of two turbines of 108 MW each in the Dubrovnik system, located on the border with Croatia in the southeast.