Our Challenge
When working with electric utilities, there's little room for error. If power plants fail, the fallout can be catastrophic. Lives are disrupted, businesses suffer, and people lose access to essential resources. OTC’s unique pump services and expertise in performing essential repairs and maintenance work are critical for plants and help keep the lights on for the people those utilities serve.
Massive pumps pull water from nearby sources into the power plant to support production and provide cooling. The scale of these pumps is enormous; the water is often sandy, dirty, and full of debris. Water levels change during the year. These factors create extra wear on pump components and, over time, make the pump less efficient. They can even cause failure. If these pumps operate at lower capacity or fail, the power plant has to shut down completely, and the community suffers the consequences.
Our Solution
To avoid worst-case scenarios, OTC’s pump experts work closely with the power plant engineers and operators to ensure repairs are performed before serious problems occur. Understanding how long a pump can operate before it requires maintenance takes experience and familiarity with the inner workings of these massive machines.
OTC engineers prevent pump failure by working with plant personnel to develop comprehensive preventative maintenance schedules. Regularly scheduled maintenance addresses the natural wear and tear experienced by these pumps and provides an opportunity to detect abnormal problems before they become serious.
OTC is unique in that it can repair pumps that are too big for most operations. Large facilities, advanced machining capabilities, and experienced technicians and engineers enable OTC to handle jobs most pump repair services can't take on. This unique capacity is one of the reasons power plants trust OTC to keep these critical pumps in working order.
Results
Due to OTC’s unique service levels and expertise, local power plants can operate at maximum capacity. A high-level understanding of the operation allows OTC engineers to work with plant personnel to ensure their pumps run efficiently and avoid downtime. Expertly planned maintenance schedules keep operating costs down and provide reliable energy for the people those utilities serve.