Design & Construction of the Contract Package Concept

The new methodology of building Power Plants over the years has greatly impacted the traditional approach. The Co-generators, Independent Power Producers, Developers and Utility Owners are assuming the responsibility for managing project personnel and ensuring that all construction related activities are properly completed instead of one Prime Contractor, or major A/E Construction Firm. The past three years have appeared favorable to the Co-generators, Independent Power Producers and Electrical Utilities, such as low interest rates, availability of fuel, etc. They have not been impacted with the trends of the 1980's & 1990's of spiraling construction cost and rising interest rates and inflation and increased fuel cost affects have literally paralyzed the construction of new power plants facilities for the past few years. The needs of the nation now call for more electrical capacity demand. Power Plants were designed for base load operation, but they have been operated as Peaking Units. The wear and tear on these units have been astronomical, these units aged twice as fast because they were not designed to operate in that manner or method. It should be known that 50% of our fossil generating plants are over 50 years old. The purpose of this book is to explain how the Contract Package Concept came about, explain what factors and guidelines are required in making their decision to manage and construct a Power Generation Facility. The late 1970's & 1980's was a period of mass construction of Fossil Power Plants, which used variable fuels, such as; * Oil * Natural Gas/Oil * Coal * Coal/Oil * Natural Gas * Diesel * Gas Turbines * Waste Refuge * Wood Waste/Burning The majority of these units were in the range of 50MW to 850MW. The shortage of new fossil power plants would result in brown outs, black outs or power shortages. It also became apparent the availability of Transmission Lines was not available and could not wheel power to areas needing electricity. It was during this period of time that the Nuclear Power Plants made there debuts. In the United States it=s estimated that more than 100 Nuclear Plants were constructed at more than 70 different sites in 34 states and operated by more than 50 different companies. The 1990's brought higher interest rates, increase cost of fuel, and availability of fuel. The Utilities wanted to maintain growth, dependability and quality of their Distribution, that=s why they started looking at other options; * Life Extension * Repowering with Combustion Turbines * Fuel Cell * Refuse/Waste & Tires * Solar * Incineration * Hydro It was also the time that Co-generators, Independent Power Producers and Power Brokers stepped forward by providing various Electrical generation facilities for a price. The type of plants were: * Combine Cycle &/or Coal Gasification * HRSG - Heat Recovery Steam Generation * Replication * Waste Incineration The question is can the utilities of today adapt to the fast-track low cost construction mentality that has been characterized by Co-generators, Independent Power Producers, and Power brokers? The answer to this question is YES! It is being accomplished by strong Utility Project Management Teams that have developed strong Project Controls to monitor the budget, schedule and the quality of any type of power project using the Contract Package Concept. The utilities in the United States have demonstrated and produced construction cost and management formats that are cost competitive with Co-generators, Independent Power Producers, and Purchase Power Developers. A/E and Construction Firms and Contractors must realize the key issues that Utilities of today have to contend with, are Design, Standardization, Project Size, Type of Project, Cost of Fuel, Location, EPA Standards, and Regulations and most important Customer Satisfaction. The key issue is constructing a Power Plant on schedule or ahead of schedule, and within the budget or under the budget. This is the tight fisted mentality the Utility must take to be competitive. To accomplish this task, the first thing the Utility must begin with is developing a Pre-Planning Stage which must be an integral part of design, engineering, project contracting, procurement, and the constructability of said project. A/E Constructors will find in today=s Utility Corporate Management=s commitment starts with providing Prudent Project Management Organization to develop and monitor their Plant so it will be Reliable, Dependable and Maintainable with the highest degree of Quality. The Utility using the Contract Package Concept will be very cost conscious, with a tight fisted mentality that will be carried over to the Utility Project Management Onsite. The purpose of this book, is for A/E and Contractor Firms and Contractors to assist & benefit them for knowledge on just how the Utility works.