Keeping electricity reliable through scheduled outages

Basin Electric is committed to providing reliable electricity to its members, and it’s through carefully planned and managed outages at its facilities that maintenance, repairs, and upgrades are completed to help ensure the reliability our members expect.

Dakota Gasification Company

Dakota Gas completed its fall outage activities in October. Various areas of the plant have different outage schedules; for example, the boilers require a three-year outage schedule, while the flue gas desulfurization unit typically requires an outage every year.

This outage included replacing the ductwork and dampers between the boilers and flue gas desulfurization. During a previous boiler outage, the dampers would not close properly, so an additional outage was required to isolate that boiler for maintenance. With the ductwork and dampers repaired, the system will be safer and provide the ability to isolate the boilers when maintenance is required.

During the outage, over 4,000 tasks such as equipment repairs, rebuilds, and replacements were completed throughout the plant. “Going into this outage, I think we were all concerned about the boiler duct replacement project. That was probably the most complex project for this outage, and it went very well,” says Dale Johnson, Basin Electric senior vice president and plant manager at Dakota Gas.

Laramie River Station

Facilities like Laramie River Station provide long-term power generation, and that's why scheduled outages and regular maintenance are so important. They ensure these dispatchable generation facilities operate reliably so members can continue receiving the power they rely on.

Laramie River Station, which consists of three coal-based generation units that have the capability of producing up to 1,700 megawatts of dispatchable electricity, is upgrading their 480-volt switchgear, which includes the transformer, the load center, and the motor control center.

While scheduled outages are essential for maintaining the reliability of power plants, Dakota Gas and Laramie River Station strive to minimize the duration and frequency of these events to ensure production and a stable electricity supply for members. Advanced planning, coordination, and effective communication are key elements in managing scheduled outages without compromising reliability.

 Read more about scheduled outages at Dakota Gas and Laramie River Station in Scheduled outages provide reliability for members in the 2024 Winter issue of Basin Today.