Run-to-Retire Outage (RTR)
What is an RTR outage?An RTR outage is a scope of service work necessary to continue operating your primary power equipment safely, reliably and efficiently through your planned remaining life cycle. It is typically a ‘one-time’ outage event intended to allow you to operate through your remaining planned life cycle without additional outage needs. When recommending an RTR outage scope, our team does not include unnecessary service work that would reduce your return on investment.
Does planning for an RTR outage require different activities/timelines than a standard maintenance outage?Planning for an RTR outage takes a highly customized approach that considers all the elements needed for a plant to operate efficiently, reliably and safely through its remaining planned life cycle. This can include:
Additional assessment on higher-risk areas
Decision points on repair vs. replace options
Ordering of new parts if needed, or delivery of spare parts
Addressing potential parts obsolescence issues
These activities can typically be performed within a similar timeline of a ‘standard’ maintenance outage schedule…typically ~12 months for planning and execution.
What type of work is performed in a RTR outage vs. a standard maintenance project? The scope of an RTR outage is driven by a plant’s life cycle timeline, operating profile, profitability model and assessed condition of its equipment. To help limit costs, our team will research opportunities to perform repairs vs. replace components, locate spare parts, or implement life extension solutions when needed. An RTR outage may consist of:
Standard maintenance activities such as inspections of the steam path, generator winding, steam valves, bearings and auxiliary systems
When needed, life extension options such as a generator rewind, blade repairs/replacements, rotor repairs, controls upgrades and repair/replacement of auxiliary components
Modifications enabling more flexibility to adapt to changing market demands…as example, ‘keep warm’ or stress control modifications that allow for more cycling capabilities without additional wear and tear on critical components
Is the cycle time for an RTR outage different than a standard major/minor?Standard maintenance work that may be needed during an RTR outage can be completed in a similar timeframe as a standard major outage cycle. More complex repairs or life extension work scope may take longer than a standard outage cycle.
As with any outage project, if additional emergent work is discovered once the outage begins, the schedule may be impacted if additional work scope is added. Part of our team’s planning process involves analysis of operating profiles, maintenance history and our fleet history to anticipate and plan for emergent work before the outage begins to minimize/eliminate schedule delays.
With a remaining life cycle window of just a few years, will an RTR outage deliver a worthwhile ROI?The scope of an RTR outage is designed to deliver a targeted return on investment, enabling the plant to operate competitively through its remaining life cycle timeline. Services, and associated costs that don’t contribute to your ROI target will not be included in an outage scope recommendation, except for those needed for you to operate your site safely. While operating needs and market dynamics can change, we can collaborate with you to identify an ROI work scope based on our risk-based assessment results and mutually agreed upon assumptions with you.
Are there ways to monitor specific operating risks on aging equipment before and/or after an RTR outage to avoid a forced shutdown?Yes. The most effective and cost-efficient way to monitor aging equipment is by tapping into digital technology. Major coal plant assets including your steam turbine and generator can be configured with sensors to provide 24/7 monitoring of operating and asset performance, and help flag potential issues in their early stages.
These digital offerings can give you the ability to directly monitor your equipment on site if you have the resources to do so, or our team can monitor your plant for you and provide remote support in a proactive way.
What happens if an RTR outage is performed on our site, and we then learn that our market wants us to continue operating longer than our targeted timeline?In this scenario, our team can coordinate with you in a similar way to reassess if any additional service work is needed to reach your extended life cycle target and, if so, deliver a recommendation scope that includes only the necessary work for that timeline.
