CEZ invests CZK5bn in hydropower plant upgrades since 2007

CEZ invests CZK5bn in hydropower plant upgrades since 2007

Prague, Sept 17 (CTK) - Energy company CEZ has modernised 20 hydropower plants with more than 40 generating units since 2007, investing over CZK5bn in upgrades that have made the plants 5 to 10 percent more efficient while reducing the amount of water they require, CEZ told CTK today.

Further upgrades are being prepared, the largest of which will be the conversion of the Orlik power plant into a pumped-storage hydropower plant at a cost of approximately CZK8bn.

Last year, CEZ's hydropower plants supplied around 1.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity to the grid, enough to cover the consumption of more than half a million households.

CEZ began modernising its hydropower plants in 2007. The work covers all types of hydropower plants. The generating units have a combined capacity of more than 1,500 megawatts (MW), equivalent to about three quarters of the capacity of either the Dukovany or Temelin nuclear power plant.

"Hydropower plants are important for the energy system because they can reach full output within a few dozen seconds and help stabilise the grid. Our response to the growing demands for reliability and safety is to modernise all types of power plants, in which we have invested more than CZK5bn in recent years. This has extended their service life, increased efficiency and allowed them to remain in operation even at flow rates and water levels that would previously have required them to be shut down," said Pavel Sleska, head of CEZ's conventional energy division.

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