Top Trends in Power Plant Maintenance Market

Vishal Pratap Singh

Power plants rely on many equipment and machinery to support their day to day operations. Power plant maintenance is the work performed to maintain power plants which includes inspections, maintenance and repairs for all the assets used throughout a power plant. Without the right maintenance procedures, key equipment and machinery can fall into disrepair, leading to potentially dangerous situations on site and also to the premature failure of expensive equipment used in generating power. The global power plant maintenance market size was USD 19.41 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 29.32 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 5.5 per cent in the period, 2021-2028.

This maintenance work is crucial for safety and preserving the longevity of energy plant assets. “Maintenance of power plant is highly essential as it plays a key role in the overall operation of a plant and timely maintenance increases its life and efficiency”, says Praveer Sinha, CEO, Tata Power.

Increasing Uses of Proactive Maintenance Techniques

Strategic power plant maintenance requires a forward thinking mindset. Power plants that strive for proactive maintenance should take actions in the present moment that will ultimately lead to better results and performance in the future. To help cultivate this proactive mentality, there is a wealth of modern power plant maintenance tools that enterprises within the industry can use to achieve their goals.

Maintenance of power plants can be predictive, preventive or planned. Predictive maintenance reduces the maintenance cost as compared to that incurred in preventive maintenance, as it prevents excess wear and tear of the operating equipment. Planned maintenance is a routine or time based maintenance that consists of lubrications, oil change, bearing checkup and other such parameters.

Maintenance Management Software

Solutions such as CMMS maintenance software make proactive asset maintenance more attainable by integrating data analytics, work order management, inventory management and reporting to accelerate and automate routine maintenance tasks. This allows power plants to stay organised and improve efficiency which absolutely helps drive revenue and reduce outages.

IoT Predictive Maintenance Tools

Internet of Things (IoT) technology takes power plant maintenance one step further by using sensors, meters and similar tools to monitor and collect asset data in real time. This data is then communicated over a network to software and other asset management solutions, allowing power plant companies to gain deeper insight into asset performance. IoT predictive maintenance tools often connect to solutions such as maintenance management software to run predictive maintenance analytics based on performance data and determine whether or not an asset requires maintenance, which helps companies quickly identify red flags to minimize unnecessary downtime.

Enterprise Asset Management Software

Enterprise Asset Management also known as EAM solutions help power plants to take better control of the overall asset lifecycle management process. Unlike the more specific solutions, enterprise asset management is a much broader process that allows power plants to see the bigger picture for asset use and management. EAM software typically integrates asset maintenance tools such as predictive maintenance analytics and work order automation to optimize and accelerate the equipment maintenance process. Not only can EAM solutions help improve power plant maintenance, but plants can also use such solutions to enhance the overarching asset management process from asset acquisition to disposal.

Computerised Systems

At a power plant, keeping up with maintenance is incredibly complex and challenging but also crucial for safety. There is no way that personnel onsite can keep track of the status of each component and asset the plant uses from one minute to the next. This is why power plants use computerised systems to track the real time status of their equipment, down to small details, so that nothing slips between the cracks.

Using Drones Instead of People

Drones made for flying in confined spaces can take the place of the inspector’s physical presence, allowing the inspector to collect visual data about the conditions within the asset remotely, without ever having to enter it. Drones can help improve power plant maintenance by providing safer inspections, expanding access to assets, increasing savings & ROI and prolonging asset lifespans.

SCADA

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition also known as SCADA is a complex industrial control system that uses computers and network data communications to monitor plant and machinery conditions. SCADA is used in several industrial processes, including power plant maintenance, refining, fabrication and manufacturing. This integration is also often used for sharing information about security related issues like fault detection, alarms and abnormal conditions detected within the plant.

Future Expectations

Demand of power plant maintenance is expected to increase in the near future owing to rise in globalization and urbanization. Also, demand for electricity is rising owing to an increase in population. Therefore, increase in investment in generation of hydroelectric power, renewable energy and geothermal power plant is anticipated to boost the global power plant maintenance market in the near future.