Lines of history:  Sergey Mikhailovich SKVORTSOV, pensioner, former head of the PTS Department

“I got a job at CHPP-1 in February 1979 as a duty fitter in the turbine shop. I had three courses in speciality “electric stations” at Pavlodar Industrial Institute. At that time the chief was V.V. Khrapunov, his deputy was Vladimir Ivanovich Sedlovsky. And my mentors were Khamit Rakhimovich Mamyrbekov and Vladimir Ivanovich Ovchinnikov.

I remember when I came to CHPP-1, there was a splash pool and small capacity turbines. For the turbines to work, it was necessary to constantly cool the steam in the condenser. The warm water left the turbines and was piped to the collectors. These created small fountains, when sprayed, the water would evaporate and cool …

At that time there was no automation, and my duties as a duty fitter included the task of making minor repairs to the equipment. Mostly it was to check the efficiency of pump bearings, change grease, tighten glands. Also, my task was to throttle the water flow with a gate valve, liaise with the turbine driver and the chemical shop. To ensure that they had enough water, we had to control both the amount of water and the pressure – no more than 1.6 atmospheres. It was very important not to allow the pressure to increase, otherwise the condensers would burst. And it happened to us …

Soon I passed the bypass exam and became a turbine operator at the central thermal control room. This work was interesting to me. I was even once given a pennant “Best Turbine Operator” at the end of a socialist competition. In those years I was constantly studying something, taking additional examinations for other positions.

Then I was transferred as a senior machinist, at that I studied by correspondence in Almaty Institute of Power Engineering, where I was transferred from Pavlodar Industrial Institute. Upon graduation, I was appointed shift supervisor, then transferred to deputy head of the turbine shop for operation, and a while later to deputy head of the PTD. At the end of the 90s, the setting-up and environmental protection shop was separated from the PTD, and it included a regime group and an environmental protection group.

I had to learn a lot from practice. Especially if there were some abnormal situations. Once, during the night shift, the chemists were walking around the desalinated water tanks, and 50 metres away from them was a 35 kV switchgear. They saw that sparks were flying there, and immediately reported it to the supervisor Khamit Rakhimovich Mamyrbekov. I was a senior machinist at that time, and our office is the closest to this place, so I was sent to the place of emergency. I got there and there were already strong sparks. Back then, the devices were oil-based, and if there was an additional source of fire, the device itself could burn and explode.

Knowing this, I didn’t hesitate, quickly climbed over the fence, took off my shirt and started to put out the sparks that fell to the ground. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the shift supervisor of the electric shop running here in zigzags. It turns out that KH.R. Mamyrbekov called the shift supervisor and asked who had been sent to the scene of the emergency. He was told that it was me. He, who knew me well, said: “I know for sure that he will climb over there and will definitely start extinguishing”. And there was a ground under voltage 35 kV. So the shift supervisor ran zigzagging, stepping on insulated paths, only on which it was safe to walk. It was very dangerous where I was standing … All in all, everything was OK, but then they me reprimanded.

Another thing was a shame: at that time, everyone who participated in the elimination of a fire was given three days’ leave on report. But I was told: “Of course, we have the right to give you three days of leave, but you violated safety rules! You won’t get anything”.

There were some funny situations. Once a journalist came to visit us. The shop manager told him to interview me. But the reporter walked around me and left. Then the shop manager explained to me that the press was not recommended to photograph bearded people – I had a beard. But in the end the article was published. But my understudy and a female attendant were also in the photo – so that not only my face with a beard would be there.

I came to work at an already operating plant with a history, its main generating equipment had already been commissioned. Nevertheless, the CHPP continued to develop: some of its components were changed. And when I worked as the head of the technical maintenance department, the last hot-water boilers were being commissioned, and the installation of vibration control on PT-60 turbines was also underway.

The thing is that at increased vibration the bearings are destroyed, and if nothing is done, the whole turbine can be destroyed. That is, the operability and safety of the equipment was monitored and maintained constantly. It was more difficult to do it in the late 80s and early 90s.

I remember when turbine No.8 of 25 mW had reached the end of its service life, I collected documents for submitting an application to the Ministry for its decommissioning. We received permission, but there were problems with financing. Therefore, we did not decommission the turbine because we could not buy a new one. Only after a while we bought a suitable turbine at the Kharkov Turbogenerator Plant. Moreover, if the old turbine had a throttle control of steam flow, the new turbine has a nozzle control, which is more KPI and increases the efficiency of the turbine by almost 1%.

And soon the state set a task to control emissions of harmful substances at enterprises. And in order to reduce their volumes, our specialists together with engineers of “Kaznaladka” LLP developed unique emulsifiers. In this group there were engineer Alexander Panarin, Deputy Head of Technical and Production Department Anatoly Vasilyevich Timchenko. Thanks to their idea, the emulsifiers began to work very well.

Working in the production and technical department, I participated in tests of new ash collecting plants, which, as a rule, were held on weekends. Now it is easy to check them – to lower a probe and determine how much dust has accumulated. But earlier it was a more labour-intensive process. We had to collect ash with a special pear, weigh the sediment and determine the degree of capture. We carried out these procedures after the repair of each boiler.

The last two emulsifiers were installed on boilers No. 8 and No. 9. We coordinated these projects with ecologists. They came to the CHPP after the installation of emulsifiers with their equipment and did tests in parallel with us. Then we had to pump the ash collected by the emulsifier to the ash dump. But the resulting slurry was with abrasive particles, and when pumping with bagger pumps, could damage them. Because if ash gets into the pump casing and on the shaft, it abrades it. And to make the pump work longer, clean, almost potable water is supplied to it.

The ash with the water flow goes to the ash dump, but in order not to waste water, it is pumped back. To increase the efficiency of the process, we with Anatoly Vasilyevich Timchenko invented the installation of a gravel filter. At that time we had a task to reduce the consumption of drinking water, as water prices were decent. Timchenko and I studied the existing filters and then provided our drawings, according to which we made new filters. They included backwashing. And then we installed two filters. And the water, which we pumped back, was proposed to be used after the filter, which is about 50 cubic metres per hour. Now the filters are still working, and the pumps are still in operation.

At large enterprises, the task of improving and optimising processes is always on the agenda. For example, there is always a certain percentage of steam and clean water losses at the plant. The permissible one is about 2%, but if we take into account all other processes, the loss rate can reach 5-6%. And it has to be restored. For this purpose, a desalting plant is designed at the plant. There was a very large one at CHPP-1. But this plant used sulphury acid and caustic alkali for regeneration. We have reduced losses many times over and reduced the amount of acid and caustic lye consumed thanks to the reverse osmosis unit.

In a design reverse osmosis plant it is a chemical desalination process, but in our plant it is a physical process. Figuratively speaking, our osmosis is a plastic plate with very small holes. Water is forced through it. But because the salts in it are larger than these holes, they are trapped by the plate, and only pure water passes through the plant.

We have had to solve many non-standard problems. For example, when in the early 2000s a strong vibration appeared at turbine No. 9, we invited specialists from Vedeneyev VNIIG, from St. Petersburg. They came with instruments, inspected the foundation and found cavities somewhere. The solution was relatively simple: to drill small pits and… to pour cement.

Each site had its own peculiarities, its own secrets, its own tolerances. I remember when I was the deputy head of the turbine shop and I came to the inspection office where the exam was taken from a laboratory assistant of the chemical shop. As soon as I walked in, they stopped the exam immediately. Because there was information that I was not supposed to know according to my position. Later, when I became the Deputy Head of the PTD, I understood why they did it. The chemical shop is an expensive, dangerous production facility, where outsiders were not allowed to stay.

Energy – a difficult profession, but it doesn’t let you go straight away. When my retirement age approached, I worked at the company for three more years, including several months as head of the PTD. I was replaced by Aibek Shayakhmetov. Many specialists with whom I had worked remained in the department. We once met on the occasion of an important date for all power engineers – the 100th anniversary of GOELRO, and they addressed me with the words: “Oh, teacher!”. I replied: “Why am I a teacher? Have I taught you anything?”. And they replied: “Of course! You come to you with a question, and you answer with three questions in return!”. And another colleague added: “Well, yes, and after you deal with your three questions, you already know the answer to your first one!” That’s a great reward from students and colleagues!

But there were other honours too: I am very pleased that in 2020, on the 100th anniversary of GOELRO, I was given both Russian and Kazakh commemorative medals. Few people remember, but the entire energy industry, which started before the 50th year, was built and developed according to the GOELRO plan. And we continued this work…