Rehabilitation of the Connors Creek Plant

A decision as to when and how an electric power plant should be rehabilitated is largely a matter of judgment. In deciding to begin rehabilitation of the Connors Creek plant in 1933, the engineers of the Detroit Edison Company gave careful consideration to many factors including obsolescence of equipment, expected load growth, and general economic conditions. In deciding to rehabilitate the plant by replacing the boilers and generating units, they studied carefully such factors as the better heat rate obtainable with new equipment, the possibility of salvaging parts of the old plant, operating and maintenance costs, and reliability. This rehabilitation program is scheduled to be carried out in 4 major steps, the first of which will be completed during 1935. The process of reasoning followed in the development of this program and the principal results obtained and anticipated are outlined in this paper.