ASTANA. KAZIFORM The emergency shutdown at a large power unit of the Mangystau Atomic Energy Complex (MAEC TPP) on 3 July 2023 was caused by excessive wear and tear of the generation equipment, a statement from Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC) as of July 25 reads, Kazinform reports.
KEGOC's relay protection and emergency control equipment operated normally and prevented the blackout in Atyrau and Mangistau power regions,
Due to the coordinated efforts of the KEGOC staff, power supply was regulated in a short time. The Atyrau power region was synchronised with Zone West of the Kazakhstan UPS in less than an hour, and with the Mangistau power region a bit later.
An analysis of the emergency revealed the need to modernize and reconstruct the existing power plants, as well as to enhance the Atyrau Refinery's external power supply.
MAEC TPP unit was shut down on 3 July 2023, at 6:23 p.m. At the time of shutdown, the total volume of load shedding was 271 MW, or nearly 18% of the overall power consumption (158 MW at the Atyrau power region and 113 MW at the Mangystau power region). There were significant interruptions in the way the energy system functioned as a result of the rapid frequency change from 50 Hz to 46.5 Hz and the disruption of the usual operation of the Atyrau and Mangystau power regions that followed.
The situation was exacerbated by an emergency shutdown at the Atyrau Refinery, where the power supply does not meet the technical specifications issued by KEGOC in 2012, as a result of failure to meet the requirements of power supply reliability for the first category of power consumers, as well as a specific group of power consumers
