The Northwest Territories has 33 geographically dispersed communities, many of which are not grid connected for community power supply. The majority are powered by small, local diesel plants with others supplied by three hydro systems which generate the majority of the total power produced annually by the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC). This paper will describe how the condition of these assets is assessed and monitored, the process used and how the results form part of the annual capital planning and implementation process. Asset management at NTPC is divided into Thermal, Hydro and Transmission and Distribution; the focus of this paper will be primarily on thermal and hydro asset health inspections. On an annual basis, one third of the assets are inspected in person by the relevant asset manager and a small team of subject matter experts. The process by which these inspections are conducted will be outlined, including what information is gathered, and what we look for when carrying out the inspections. The asset condition information for various component parts is entered into one spreadsheet for each asset. The paper will describe how an asset health index for that asset is assigned. The condition of the asset determines what further action or inspections are required and the criteria used will be discussed. The presentation will also outline how the results from the inspections are used as part of a project prioritization process for capital planning. Current reporting practices on individual asset health indices and for each power plant will be described. In discussing this topic, NTPC sees an opportunity to receive feedback from others and to promote discussion on best practice from other power utility companies.
Ian is a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.), a Certified Asset Management Professional (CAMP™) and Project Management Professional (PMP) with over 30 years of experience in managing teams in commercial shipping, submarine nuclear industry, project management, and asset management. Ian has been working with the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) since moving to Canada from the UK in 2012. After five years as a Project Manager for plant upgrades and replacements he accepted the Asset Manager position for thermal plants which he has been doing for the last four years.Due to the geography of the Northwest Territories and the widely scattered communities, grid connection for community power supply is not possible. Therefore, Ian’s asset management experience has been largely with small isolated diesel plants and one new hybrid diesel-solar-battery micro-grid plant in Colville Lake. Ian conducts annual asset health inspections which form part of his capital planning process and he is also involved in day-to-day operational issues that require immediate solutions.Prior to coming to Canada, Ian worked for Rolls-Royce Marine in the UK, latterly as a project manager for a five nation, ten company EU-funded project looking at noise and vibration reduction for future European-built fast ferries. The remainder of his time with Rolls-Royce Marine was mainly concerned with safety and reliability aspects of the nuclear submarine steam raising plant. Ian started his working life as an engineering cadet and then worked on commercial shipping managing the running and maintenance of marine machinery.
