Production halted at all power plants in the earthquake zone
The epicenter is the Pazarcık and Elbistan districts of Kahramanmaraş; Production at all power plants in the region was halted due to the earthquakes which caused great destruction in the region, especially in Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman and Hatay.
The complete cessation of electricity production, which is of great importance in terms of search and rescue, health, communication and coordination in the earthquake region, raised the question of whether the region’s power plants, especially the Afşin Elbistan power plants A and B, were affected by the earthquake.
Orhan Aytaç, member of the Energy Working Group of the Chamber of Mechanical Engineers, shared his information on Afşin Elbistan Termik A and B, Iskenderun Atlas, Adana Sugözü and Hunutlu thermal power plants and Erzin natural gas power plant with SÖZCÜ.
“NO STRESS ON THE STRUCTURES OF POWER PLANTS”
Aytaç stated that according to the information they received from the region, there was no significant problem regarding the Afşin Elbistan A and B coal-fired power plants in Elbistan, where there was a lot of destruction, saying: “We are in an environment where no one can get reliable information from anyone. We have been informed that there are no significant problems with the structures of the plants. However, the area that we call the switchyard, where the transformers and poles that transmit the electrical energy produced at the plant to the region are located, is affected by the earthquake. Since the structures in the switchyard are lighter and weaker, it is no longer possible to transmit electricity even if a transformer base is moved here. Although electricity is produced at these plants, transmission cannot be carried out due to the situation of the switchyard, which was damaged in the first earthquake. Furthermore, as all the buildings in the region are being demolished, the electricity poles are also being demolished, in this case, the region cannot be supplied with electricity.”
SITUATION IN OTHER PLANTS IN THE REGION
Orhan Aytaç, who said that other power plants in the earthquake zone did not produce due to safety or simply failures in their fields, said: “There is an Atlas thermal power plant operating with imported coal in the Iskenderun region. There are Adana Sugözü Thermal Power Plant and Hunutlu Thermal Power Plant open near this power plant. As far as we know, they are also out of production for security reasons. But we don’t know if there is a structural problem. They may also have a structural problem in their switchyards. There is the Erzin Natural Gas Power Plant. We have information that it is not working either. There are also hydroelectric power plants in the region. Since the hydroelectric structures are designed with high safety, I believe that there is no situation that causes significant problems in those structures,” he added, adding that electricity production in the region has completely stopped.
“SOLVING PROBLEMS TAKES TIME”
Stating that it is not known how long it will take to rectify the faults and restore electricity in the region, Aytaç said: “Even if these power plants do not produce, the region can receive electricity from other regions. But of course, which substation has how many failures, what kind of failures and failures on which intercity lines, which one collapsed, which one was destroyed, there is no information. For the moment, studies on human life are prioritized. Once these studies are finished, the technical studies begin. It can take different times for each plant to come online, depending on the extent of the damage.”