Valley Hydraulic Stations (P.H.V.)

Abstract

Summary In a mixed nuclear-fossil fuel thermal-hydraulic production system such as the French system, hydraulics play an essential part due to their dynamic qualities. For many years, ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE has developed efficient automatic control systems for hydraulic power plants, so as to make the best use of their flexibility in taking action and in meeting dispatching demands as quickly as possible. Thus, centralized control stations have been designed to coordinate the control of several power plants from a single point. Computerized industrial control systems have proved to be the most suitable and efficient for this purpose. The “lake” power plants are now remote controlled and control of power plants interlinked along a same river has been coordinated with a resultant improvement in their kinetic performances. With this experience, ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE has decided to increase the number of its centralized control stations. With centralized control of the installations and the information fed back from them, the Valley Hydraulic Stations now have an electric and hydraulic coordination system operated by permanently present operators. A system of this type is now operating on the harnessed portion of the DURANCE-VERDON: it ensures the remote control of 18 interlinked power plants over more than 200 km between 780 m above sea level and the sea. A first series of three Valley Hydraulic Stations will be commissioned during 1988.