Jaworzno starts after CPR. This time, effective?

The description of Rafako and Tauron's "business relations" is slow becoming an business for encyclopedists, and the volume of all events, stock returns, stock messages and media statements most likely crossed the method documentation of the boiler malfunctions in Jaworzno a long time ago. In telegraphic summary, we remind us of his first half of August.

1. Rafako accuses Tauron that coal in Jaworzno does not meet the quality requirements (first in media leaks, then anywhere he can), why the energy company denies and accuses the Raciborian company of blackmail, which aims to release PLN 600 million of bank guarantees.

2. Despite these denials, the failure undergoes a block drain, which makes Rafako strengthen its narrative. Tauron inactive remains at his side, but at the same time with the positions of president of Tauron Production and peculiar intent Company fresh Jaworzno Tauron Group says goodbye Sebastian Gola, and in this second company the rudders take over Paweł Szczeszek, head of the full Tauron group.

3. Although the parties to the dispute cast themselves in the best "meat" (or more coal and slag), as has been the case many times, they return to seeking a compromise for the good of "the stableness of Poland's energy system". It is so crucial to repair the drain and restart the block as shortly as possible.

4. The dispute is intended to aid resolve mediation before the arbitration court at the lawyer General of the Republic of Poland. The aim is to establish a fresh word to which Rafako should carry out optimization and tuning works – including tests, tests and measurements – of the Jaworznia unit. The erstwhile settlement of December last year is expected to be 30 October 2022, and the block's failures and stops became unreal.

Although ‘old’ Jaworzno (left) was built in the 1970s, it inactive works better than this fresh one. photograph by Tomasz Elżbieciak

These events, as well as issues related to the engagement of the owner of Raciborz, were discussed in our article entitled Rafako makes a boiler in Tauron and Solovov is inactive waiting.

It is worth noting that the secondary shocks of those events were besides pushed out of the seats of 2 vice presidents of Tauron: Artur Michałowski (ds. trade) and Jerzy Topolski (ds. property management). The Katowice company so maintains among the State Treasury companies the position of the company with 1 of the least unchangeable boards.

Block standing, failure rising

However, the truce in this conflict proved to be very short-lived. Repair of the leja was to be completed by August 29, but 4 days earlier Radosław Domagalski-Łabędzki from the morning top of the Business Insider portal warned that there was inactive a problem with coal, which could consequence in another failure after the block was launched. “Under the side of the government individual plays the energy safety of Poland for their interests,” said the president.

On the same day Tauron declares that Rafako has ceased repair work in Jaworzno, so the advanced 80% of the robots will be completed by a replacement contractor. "We do not intend to enter into the incomprehensible political and business game of Rafako", Tauron replied, returning to the subject of blackmail and PLN 600 million of bank guarantees.

Rafako initially denied and argued that he was inactive doing his work, and Tauron's actions were not communicated in accordance with contract procedures. He besides warned that he did not take work for the work carried out without his supervision.

On Friday (27 August) Tauron reported that the block would yet return to work at KSE by 2 September at 23rd, and his stop, which lasted from 6 August, would reduce the first-degree margin generated by the unit by a full of around PLN 285 million.

Information War

For the past weekend, Rafako of the frelling funnel was no longer fixed, but that doesn't mean it was busy at the time. On Tuesday morning, it decided to call a press conference on Jaworzno.

"We uncover documents, we present facts – we exposure false information provided by Tauron," Rafako announced this event. Tauron did not intend to passively watch, and just before the conference, he reported that the repair of the drainage funnel had been completed, and the work received by the method Inspection Office, so the block is being prepared for re-sync with the network.

– The decision to choice the alleged replacement contractor was intended to launch the unit as shortly as possible", Tauron stressed, adding that the work included repairing damaged elements – insignificant harm in the form of scratches and dents and deformations.

– This is not the first specified failure of the 910 MW block boiler. The problems with the lavage had already occurred in 2021," Tauron stated, most likely wanting to make it clear that this happened erstwhile the quality of Rafako's coal did not complain.

In addition, before the company's racibor conference began, it informed in the stock exchange communication that it had received a declaration from Tauron that it had terminated the contract for “operational and coordination work” in Jaworznia with effect at the end of September 2022. This agreement was concluded on 5 August, with specified a deadline, but at the time it was indicated that ‘the parties intended that the agreement should be in force for an indefinite period’.

What's the sinter gonna say?

Back to the Rafako conference itself. It lasted over an hr and was attended by 2 presidents: Radosław Domagalski-Łąbędzki, the head of the parent company, and Łukasz Hołubowski, who heads the subsidiary Rafako Engineering. Between them, on the table was a “we witness” of events in Jaworzno, namely a large-scale coal sinter, intended to come from the boiler there.

Rafako press conference. From the left: Łukasz Hołubowski, sinter from Jaworzna, Radosław Domagalski-Łabędzki and company spokesperson Jacek Balcer. Photo: mat. press.

ed This conference Have we learned anything groundbreaking? First of all, we heard again that the origin of the problems is coal. Rafako even presented the results of the investigation to be obtained from Tauron himself, indicating that the standards of certain fuel components had been exceeded. At the same time, it called for detailed investigation by the Main Mining Institute.

Furthermore, president Domagalski-Łabędzki estimated that the energy company had decided to “war” with Rafako, which could consequence in the failure of the restructuring effects of the company – including the investor process, in which Michał Solovow, the richest Pole, expressed his desire to take over the company from Raciborza. In addition, the European Commission late agreed to 100 million PLN of aid to the company, which was granted by the Agency for Industrial Development.

– For the company it is development, return to the main energy. There is simply a full plan that Tauron wants to spread to us now – the president assessed.

In addition, he estimated that Tauron wanted to bring contract guarantees through his actions in Jaworzno, in order to improve the group's limping finances. In order to carry out the tests ending the contract, coal is required to comply with the contractual requirements, especially in the supercritical parameters block, and Tauron cannot supply specified coal.

According to Domagalski-Łabędzki, the company would even admit in correspondence that it was incapable to supply adequate coal due to the alleged higher power in the form of the effects of the war in Ukraine on the natural materials market.

The slide from Rafako's presentation. Photo: mat. press.

On the another hand, referring to the completion of the boiler water treatment by the substitute contractor Domagalski-Łabędzki, he stated that it was carried out in a simplified technology, another than that approved by UDT. Rafako was besides to propose specified a Tauron, but this, according to the Raciborska company, would gotta consequence in the failure of the water guarantee.

During the conference, Tauron, who, of course, denied them, besides referred to the president's current Twitter profile. He besides stressed that the carrying out of the “border coals” burning trials was a contractual work for Rafako, and that the task of “the correctly designed, tuned and functioning boiler surface cleaning strategy is to prevent slag and trailing during its work”.

Let us remind that the HighNapiecie.pl portal has previously established that the bad day did not start blowers and cannons removing contamination from the boiler. However, it is not known who is responsible.

In turn, the answer to Domagalski-Łabędzki's allegation that Tauron avoids mediation talks, the company stated that he transferred his position to the lawyer General of Poland. president Rafako expressed hope that this was the announcement of a return to talks.

Countdown.

As of Thursday, preparations for synchronisation of the block with the network continued. A day earlier, the local net portal jaw.pl published a recording on which you can see a steam floating from a chimney cold store, which is expected to indicate that the launch of the unit has begun.

Given the peripety surrounding this power plant, the steam rising above it is beginning to be expected like white smoke during the Vatican conclave... Although in the case of Jaworn, the fumes of absurdity are more to be remembered.

On Thursday, we learned from Rafako's press office that the company from Raciborza had removed the warranty from the damaged funnel erstwhile a replacement contractor was assigned to execute repairs. At the same time, the company continues to declare its readiness to sign a fresh agreement with Tauron to support it in the operation of the unit.

– Our employees come to work all day and are ready to support the contractor in starting and synchronizing the block. For now, however, they are not allowed into the block due to the fact that their passes have been revoked. Even our task director, Jacek Balcer, spokesperson for Rafako, was not allowed to take carbon samples today.

Voice engineers!

Both Tauron and Rafako usage only the word "substitute contractor" in communication. However, in practice, the works started and ended the same company, which is the stock exchange Remak-Energomontaż – only the payer, from Rafako to Tauron, changed.

– The subject of this funnel is at the level of a foreman or foreman, not CEOs or corporations. Damages to pipes in the boiler due to falling pollutants are nothing peculiar and they happen in all boilers, although in Jaworzno more late than in another places – we heard from our source.

In a presentation published on Tuesday, Rafako stated that mediocre fuel quality was besides expected to origin harm to the elements of the mill, coal, which would consequence in a removal of the warranty by its producer. The mills to Jaworzno were supplied by the German company Loesche. Until the article was published, we failed to get a comment on the case.

In the energy sector, the question of the quality of coal and its impact on the Jaworznica block remains ambiguous – among others, due to the fact that this cannot be determined without full fuel research. The ones that showed Rafako during the Tuesday conference do not prejudge this, due to the fact that they are incomplete – at least the heat of combustion and parameters of ash are missing.

The slide from Rafako's presentation. Photo: mat. press.

– method issues should be addressed by specialists. Meanwhile, managers who are not energy and specialists are speaking on this issue. That's why it's not convincing. We don't know how many individual animosities there are in this dispute, how many political factions fighting. This is all happening in the mediate of the energy crisis, erstwhile it counts all megawatt in the system," the manufacture expert told us.

– This should all be explained by the outside people, possibly under the aegis of UDT, who know what they're talking about. We now have a political and business debate, not a method one, which explains the doubts about why this block is not working as it should. Energetetics do not explain this to them," he added.

Manual control?

Questions arise besides in the context of re-launching and synchronisation of the block without the engagement of Rafako.

– It's a beautiful brave play, but is it well thought out? They can run and work the block, but what about the automation that Emerson delivered to the block? This block has specified advanced automation that it should be practically possible to fire it or put it on the button," our informant emphasized.

– The block works in full automation, so without a Tauron supplier it can not handle the operation of specified a multi-level system. If he starts the block himself and there will be problems again, e.g. the boiler will follow, then the mountain will be Rafako – he added.

As he explained, the automation of the block needs to be tuned to coal. If its parameters are very variable, specified tuning is very difficult. Therefore, it is even better erstwhile coal is constantly of mediocre quality than erstwhile good and erstwhile worse. With large fluctuations in parameters, the automation of the block may neglect and prediction blocks must be programmed to foretell changes in fuel quality. The correct operation of the block handling devices depends on this.

– For example, in order to change the settings of air regulators in the system, you gotta have approval to do this. So the question is whether Emerson has already given Tauron the power to all the control levels, or whether Tauron intends to fire the block “on a stick”. Then individual devices would should be manually controlled if the block did not scope the appropriate parameters – our origin wonders.

Better than nothing?

From another individual in the industry, however, we heard that today, erstwhile it is hard to get the perfect coal, both sides should scope a compromise.

– If all 2-3 months you request a block halt and a boiler search, that's fine. However, it is simply a much better option for the block to work at up to 500-600 MW than that it will not work at all and the situation on the energy marketplace will be even more hard than today. It is besides a better option than burning coal on blocks of 200 MW class, which have low efficiency. We are in constant shortage of fuel and energy, so this is not the time to take on heads," he stressed.

New block 910 MW at Jaworzno III Power Plant. photograph by Tomasz Elżbieciak

As we have already written before, the block in Jaworzno is simply a kind of prototype, where the selection of devices or solutions was first used. In addition, Rafako has never previously been a general contractor for specified large investments. Therefore, the alleged "child-age diseases" in this case are much more chronic than in the case of a gym of a akin scale, namely Kozienic (1075 MW, Enea) or Opole (2×900 MW, PGE), where they were based on Mitsubishi Hitachi and General electrical technologies successively.

Moreover, in Jaworzno, both sides dug into their positions, making the dispute little understandable, and this surely does not make it easier to make a appropriate diagnosis.

– We may gotta accept that the 910 MW block in Jaworzno is incapable to work on rough, plan parameters – at least now, with erstwhile experience in operation, and available coal – stated our informant.

– possibly in 2-3 years you can master this block, possibly you'll inactive gotta pay for the method improvements. But will it be more costly for Tauron and the Polish economy than the losses that Jaworzna's halt generates? Especially erstwhile more than PLN 6 billion has been spent on the construction, he has already signed.