Salt River Project completes hydropower modernisation project

SRP’s Roosevelt, Horse Mesa, Mormon Flat, and Stewart Mountain dams generate 265 MW of hydropower – enough to power more than 60 000 homes annually.

SRP modernised its legacy excitation systems – vital for power generation – and integrated them with the distributed control systems already in place at its four hydroelectric dams. By standardising on Emerson’s Ovation™ Automation Platform and implementing modern control strategies, SRP reduced operations and maintenance costs by 30% and cut troubleshooting time by half – helping ensure operational continuity and strengthening grid performance. Enhanced operational visibility keeps critical start-up and shutdown procedures efficient, avoiding delays that could have doubled their duration.

Shari Brady, SRP Hydro Electrical Engineer, commented: “As the long-time operator of the Bureau of Reclamation’s dams, we have a responsibility to ensure delivery of a reliable, clean, and continuous source of power the community depends on. By standardising on Emerson’s fully unified Ovation automation platform across our hydro fleet for excitation and plant control – and through close collaboration between project teams – we completed all system installations on time, even with aggressive schedules. We now have greater operational insight and easier troubleshooting, which helps us maintain unit reliability in the 90th percentile.”

Rising electricity consumption driven by record growth in the Phoenix area along with extreme temperatures in the service area have required energy providers like SRP to continue to invest in improving its infrastructure, including generator excitation.

Bob Yeager, President of Emerson’s Power and Water Business, added: “Increased visibility and reliability of hydro operations helps Salt River Project ensure continuous operation to efficiently supply their customers with the power they rely on 24/7. SRP’s vision for standardising on a fully unified automation system was a transformative step that will position them for success – even in the face of shifting energy markets and increased need for power – for decades to come.”

The custom Ovation Excitation Systems, two of which are for pump and energy storage units that require unique integration when switching to pump mode, are seamlessly integrated into the existing Ovation distributed controls. The new cohesive plant system improves SRP’s hydroelectric capabilities, which help strengthen grid reliability and meet the demands of an evolving grid using more renewable energy resources like solar and wind.

SRP’s new, fully integrated automation platform simplifies operations and maintenance by using the same spare parts, streamlining training, maintaining operator familiarity, and managing a single point of contact for automation support and service.

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