Evaluation of maintenance management through benchmarking in geothermal power plants

Abstract

In today’s competitive energy market, many power plants are increasing their competitiveness by adopting new operating and maintenance philosophies to reduce their Operation and Maintenance (O&M) costs. Comparing performance among geothermal plants is difficult, as each power plant works within a unique context of resource, physical plant settings, and organizational goals. However, benchmarking provides indicators that allow us to examine individual circumstances and performances within groups of similarly-sized power plants. As geothermal power plants are base- load stations, the role of maintenance management to improve equipment reliability and plant availability is very important. In recent practice, power plants have started using benchmarking to identify the best practices for enhancing their maintenance management. This research involved using benchmarking for maintenance management of geothermal power plants and developing a comprehensive model which can help to compare maintenance performance. The model helped in the search for optimum methods of maintenance management practices in order to improve the overall effectiveness of operation and maintenance. Appropriately, by adopting the best practices, benchmarking could help geothermal plants to become more cost-effective in maintenance.