Overview of Alabama Powers

1
Overview of Alabama Powers Tallapoosa River Ope
rations

Martin Dam Relicensing Informational Meeting Ap
ril 1, 2008
Andy Sheppard, P.E. Project Mgr. - Hydro Optimiza
tion
2
(No Transcript)
3
What do we want to do today?

• Take a brief tour of the river basin and dams
• Review project purposes
• Special operation issues
• Daily operation considerations

4
Alabama Power Company Hydroelectric Projects
5
APCo RESERVOIR SYSTEMS

• Three River
  Basins
  
• Tallapoosa
  Warrior Coosa
  
• Drainage 3,300 4,200
  10,100
  
• Reservoirs 4 3
  6
  
• Units 11 4
  26
  
• Capacity (MW) 420 280
  950
  

6
(No Transcript)
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
Tallapoosa River Basin Average Monthly Rainfall
12
(No Transcript)
13
PROJECT PURPOSES

• HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER
• Electric System Dynamic Benefits
• Energy
• FLOOD CONTROL
• DROUGHT MANAGEMENT
• NAVIGATION REQUIREMENTS
• RECREATION, FISH AND WILDLIFE
• WATER QUALITY

14
The Reservoirs operated by APCo are different in
more than just name and location, they're
designed to be operated differently.
APCo operates two types of reservoirs
Run-of-River and Storage
Run-of-River
Storage Tallapoosa Yates, Thurlow
Harris, Martin
Warrior Bankhead, Holt
Smith Coosa Lay, Mitchell, Jordan/B
ouldin Weiss, Henry, Logan Martin
Furthermore, the dams located on the same river
must be operated as a single system
The operations of each dam have an impact on both
upstream and downstream reservoirs
15
Typical APCo System Load and Hydro Generation
during Winter
9,000 MW
8,000 MW
7,100 MW
16
Typical APCo System Load Hydro Generation
during Summer
11,000 MW
6,300 MW
17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21
Wadley May 2003
22
Tallapoosa River above Horseshoe Bend May 2003
23
Flood Control can be defined as reducing river
stages DOWNSTREAM of a dam
The people and property located downstream
benefit from flood control operations
Run-of-river reservoirs have limited flood
control capability they cannot provide this
benefit to the public
24
Downstream flood peaks are reduced by discharging
less water than is coming into the reservoir
Flood control plans are based on studies of
significant rainfall events.
Not every flood can be completely controlled
each project has a particular amount of water
that it can store
After all flood storage has been used, the
project becomes run-of-river
25
Drought Forecasting
Drought Timetable
Reservoir Impacts
So, how does APCo make the decisions?
Using a consultation process that involves all
the regulatory agencies responsible for managing
flow and its impacts How bad . .
. . How long . . . . . How much
26
License Excerpt for Martin DamFERC Project 349

• Article 12 - The FERC Secretary of the Army
  have rights to dictate storage discharge rules
  in the interest of navigation, protection of
  life, health, and property, and in the interest
  of the fullest practicable conservation and
  utilization of such waters for power purposes
  and for other beneficial public uses, including
  recreational purposes
• (paraphrased)

27
Tallapoosa River Daily Reservoir Operations
28
Automated Rain Stream Gages

• RIVER RAIN STREAM
• TALLAPOOSA 15 6
• WARRIOR 15 6
  
  
• COOSA 45
  18
  

29
(No Transcript)
30
(No Transcript)
31
JAN FEB MAR APR
MAY JUN JUL
AUG SEP OCT
NOV DEC
32

33
Operational Issues
Daily Weekly Load Forecast
Rain Forecast
Lake Level Forecast
Lake Activity
Inflow Forecast
Maintenance Plans
Units On-line
Up Down Stream Lake Levels Inflows
Required Min. Discharges
Flood Control Discharges
34

35
(No Transcript)
36
Martin Rule Curve Evaluation

• Primary objective of MIG 3 Project Operations
  Study Plan is to determine feasibility of winter
  pool change
  
• Preliminary results of modeling complete,
  presented today
  
• Investigated early implementation approach
  change and evaluate in the field
  
• Modeling results indicate downstream flooding
  issues
  
• Solicited direction from FERC must conduct
  in-depth analysis of impacts and mitigation
  during relicensing process through modeling and
  studies prior to any operational changes
• Evaluation of permanent changes to winter pool
  will be conducted over the next 2 to 3 years and
  proposal included in license application in 2011
  
• Precedent has been set for addressing future
  drought conditions