Refurbishment of the Limbe Power Plant

Georges Samuel Njoh Njoh, the Limbe Thermal Power Plant Manager, is proud with what has been done in Limbe, at the end of a refurbishment operation that lasted for close to six months.

Georges Samuel Njoh Njoh: Head of Limbe Thermal Power Plant is proud of what has been done in Limbe in terms of refurbishment that lasted for a little over six months. He is proud of the 85 MW regained, of its pipes, of its new genset radiators with their self-cleaning system, of new HFO separators, of its control room with its operation system completely renovated and of the performance of its new air compressors. He is equally proud of the new saline water treatment plant that is going to have an impact on the overall performance and would reduce the noxious impact of activities of the power plant on the environment. The visit of this new installation was one of the highlights of the GM’s second trip.

Concerning the functioning of the thermal power plant, water is very important :
 It is used in cooling gensets. To this end, we use borehole water that goes through the water treatment plant before entering the genset circuit, dubbed cooling water.
 It is also used to power various circuits required for the process: cleaning of radiator batteries of which 5 batteries with 100 air-coolers installed to prevent corrosion.

Without water treatment with adequate products, we observed scale deposits on the internal components of the plant leading inevitably to clogging and loss of performance.

It is among other causes that are at the source of the continuous drop in indicators of the Limbe power plant. In 2014, a danger level was passed, with barely 38 MW supplied to the network. Demotivated staff began to look elsewhere, rumours of a closure were persistent; even fuel was scarce. In Limbe the atmosphere was not good. A situation that led the Coach to intervene to justify the urgent need for a refurbishment plan. Discussions were heated; the Board of Directors was incisive, shareholders wanted to understand and demanded guarantees on the final result. The Coach took a commitment and on 22 January 2016, the oldest structure vis-à-vis the privatization of SONEL was able to have a new look.

The Limbe power plant was commissioned in 2004, and it maintained its available capacity of 82 MW up to 2011. Mr Georges Samuel Njoh Njoh affirms that “As from 2012, we observed a drop in capacity due to, on the one hand, a delay in the execution of major maintenance of 24,000 hours of operation and, on the other hand, corrosion of radiator batteries caused by sea salt (nearness to the sea). Presently, 24,000 hours/36,000 hours of operation overhaul works and the replacement of radiators have been completed with the available gensets at 17MW each. The new radiator has been installed with a cleaning system from the top of radiators.”.

Today, Limbe has come to life again, swept across by air from the open sea. The grass has become green, the walls are clean and the floor of the workshop room is less filthy. In the corridors of Limbe, a team of 48 young men seemed to have decided to write the finest passages of the most beautiful thermal power plant in Cameroon. In order to get to this point, “a maintenance policy will be put in place for the sustainable maintenance of various pipes. A project on the replacement of the remainder of the pipes is being finalized. A feasibility study for the replacement of already damaged genset chimneys due to corrosion is underway.” .

Appointment with the next overhaul of 24,000 hours?

Cost of rehabilitation of Limbe Power Plant: 9 billion FCFA