Driving power reliability through software and services in the Dominican Republic

The Corporación Dominicana de Empresas Eléctricas Estatales (CDEEE) Punta Catalina Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTPC) will generate a combined 752 megawatts and provide one third of the Dominican Republic’s total generation capacity. The CDEEE is partnering with GE Steam Power and GE Digital to help the plant achieve better performance and lower generation costs to help the country increase its use of renewable energy by 25% through better reliability and stability. Digital Twin blueprints -- software representations of critical assets -- across both units to help detect equipment failures before they happen.

As an island nation, the Dominican Republic can face unique challenges when it comes to maintaining reliable power. Its dependence on imported fuels and exposure to oil price volatility make reliable power generation facilities critical to avoiding interruptions in electricity access for its 10.8 million residents. With the Dominican Republic’s population growing about one percent annually, preparing for future growth is equally important when it comes to its power infrastructure. Additionally, grid stability is in focus for the island nation as plans to increase its renewable portion of the energy mix by 25 percent between 2015 and 2025 continue.

Today the Central Termoeléctrica Punta Catalina (CTPC) power plant plays an essential role in maintaining reliable power for the Dominican Republic. To help ensure the 752-megawatt plant generates electricity reliably for years to come, the Corporación Dominicana de Empresas Eléctricas Estatales (CDEEE) turned to GE for support.

Pursuant to a Multi-Year Service Agreement, GE will provide maintenance services on CTPC’s GE-manufactured equipment, together with several software suites to help CDEEE/CTPC’s on-site team operate the plant reliably and achieve better performance. The agreement also includes on-site support by GE experts with Advisory Services on operations and maintenance on the plant.

As the Dominican Republic’s most comprehensive digital steam plant, CTPC is leveraging the power of software and GE’s world-class service capabilities to help the CDEEE/CTPC realize the potential for increased reliability, reduced risk, lower maintenance costs and improved production to fuel the Caribbean’s largest economy.

This will include the world’s first-ever implementation of GE’s Plant Efficiency Advisor to help CDEEE/CTPC monitor and identify the plant’s performance gaps, as well as the Caribbean’s first implementation of Boiler Optimization and Mill Optimization software to help increase efficiency and reduce NOx emissions over the plant’s lifetime. 

Through Predix  (APM) digital technology, GE will help the CDEEE/CTPC team remotely monitor the site’s equipment to help detect operational issues before they occur as a means of avoiding unplanned downtime from operation. In addition, an Operations Performance Management (OPM) suite will help the site run more efficiently, driving lower fuel costs and longer operating life for its equipment. CTPC also will implement Digital Twin blueprints -- software representations of critical assets -- across both units to help detect equipment failures before they happen.