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Manage hydrological resources for electricity generation
Level
6
Credits
16
Purpose
People credited with this unit standard are able to: demonstrate knowledge of
hydrology resources; identify and communicate current hydrological
parameters; maintain dispatched and scheduled generation, water flows and
water storage within hydrological parameters; respond to and manage
abnormal conditions that impact on hydrological resources; and prepare
hydrological reports and documentation.
Subfield
Electricity Supply
Domain
Electricity Supply - Power System Management
Status
Registered
Status date
11 December 2009
Date version published
11 December 2009
Planned review date
31 December 2014
Entry information
Recommended: Unit 15575, Operate hydro-electric
generating plant from enterprise control room, or
demonstrate equivalent knowledge and skills.
Accreditation
Evaluation of documentation and visit by NZQA and
industry.
Standard setting body (SSB)
Electricity Supply Industry Training Organisation
Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP) reference
0120
This AMAP can be accessed at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/search/index.do.
Special notes
1
This unit standard is intended for, but not restricted to, workplace assessment. The
range statements across the unit standard can be applied according to industry
specific equipment, procedures, and processes.
2
Safety of personnel and plant must be a priority throughout the assessment. If the
safety requirements are not met the assessment must stop.
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3
Performance and work practices in relation to the elements and performance criteria
must comply with all current legislation, especially the Electricity Act 1992, and any
regulations and codes of practice recognised under that statute; the Health and
Safety in Employment Act 1992; and the Resource Management Act 1991.
Electricity supply industry codes of practice and documented industry procedures
include the Safety Manual – Electricity Industry (SM-EI) (2004) Wellington: Electricity
Engineers’ Association. A full list of current legislation and industry codes is
available from the Electricity Supply Industry Training Organisation, PO Box 1245,
Waikato Mail Centre, Hamilton 3240.
4
The phrase in accordance with industry requirements is implicit in all elements and
performance criteria in this unit standard.
5
Industry requirements include all asset owner requirements; manufacturers’
specifications; and enterprise requirements which cover the documented workplace
policies, procedures, specifications, and business and quality management
requirements relevant to the workplace in which assessment is carried out.
6
Practical workplace exercises or simulations should be used for training and
assessment where possible.
Elements and performance criteria
Element 1
Demonstrate knowledge of hydrology resources.
Range
may include but is not limited to – dams, water management, river and tributary
inflows, weather, catchment areas, run off, lakes, water storage, spillways,
canal systems, tunnels, pipelines, penstocks, hydraulic structures, turbines and
associated equipment, snow pack, snow accumulation and melt, water balance,
flow regressions, water flow times.
Performance criteria
1.1
Principles of water management, plant optimisation and efficiency within
prescribed rules and regulations, operating policies, dispatch systems, and
legislation are described.
Range
1.2
may include but is not limited to – hydraulic measurements,
hydraulic storage, hydraulic control levels, flood control, hydraulic
dispatch, operating policies, operating rules and regulations.
Dams are identified, described, and their features explained.
Range
may include but is not limited to – types of dam, dam safety, dam
design, dam surveillance and monitoring.
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1.3
Spillways are identified and their purpose explained.
Range
1.4
Canals are identified and their purpose explained.
Range
1.5
may include but is not limited to – intake works and equipment,
grills and cleaning, headgates, emergency closing, surge
chambers, water hammer, water flow measurements and
protection.
Hydraulic turbines are identified and explained.
Range
1.8
may include but is not limited to – hydraulic design, cross-sections,
diameters, flows and flow velocities, pressures, linings, monitoring
and inspections.
Hydraulic structures relating to hydro-electric generators are identified and their
purpose explained.
Range
1.7
may include but is not limited to – hydraulic design, flows, flow
velocities, gates, canal management, de-watering and re-filling.
Tunnels, pipes, and culverts are identified and their purpose explained.
Range
1.6
may include but is not limited to – types and functions of spillways,
capacity.
may include but is not limited to – types of turbine, static and
operating heads, choices of types, wicket gates and spear valves,
swing ring, actuator, governor, efficiency, losses, turbine inlet and
relief valves, butterfly valves, bypass valves, sluicing operation
and capability.
Rules and regulations governing hydrology resources are described in terms of
resource consents, operating policies and boundaries, and the Resource
Management Act (RMA).
Element 2
Identify and communicate current hydrological parameters.
Range
may include but is not limited to – hydraulic storage, inflows, outflows, dispatch,
plant status, generation flows, spillways, monitoring equipment problems and
faults.
Performance criteria
2.1
Equipment status is determined.
Range
may include but is not limited to – lakes, canals, lake levels,
volumes, river flows, canal flows, spill flows, optimisation and
efficiency, catchment data, weather, water values, offers,
generation schedule.
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2.2
Planned events that impact upon equipment status are identified and impact
determined.
Range
2.3
may include but is not limited to – plant availability, contingencies
and constraints, weather forecasts, trends and strategies.
Controller handover procedures are completed ensuring that all relevant
information is transferred to the new controller.
Range
may include but is not limited to – formal hand over procedures,
log books, shift change reports, analyse fault and off-normal
situations, discussion of current events.
Element 3
Maintain dispatched and scheduled generation, water flows, and water storage within
hydrological parameters.
Range
may include but is not limited to – generation dispatch, operating rules and
regulations, operating policies, legislation, plant operating schedules, water
storage schemes, capability diagrams, station manuals, alarms, events, plant
status, outage planning, generator availability, offers, re-offer impact on water
management.
Performance criteria
3.1
Dispatched and scheduled generation, water flows, and water storage are
maintained within the provisions of the RMA, other legislative requirements, and
optimal water usage.
Range
3.2
may include but is not limited to – generation schedule,
preparation, turbine efficiency curves.
Operating decisions actioned are determined in accordance with plant status,
local knowledge, river user requirements, and ensure that operating
requirements are met.
Range
includes but is not limited to – plant availability and service
condition, resource consent and loading limits, capability
diagrams, operational limitations.
3.3
Plant and equipment required to maintain generation, water flows, and water
storage are controlled.
3.4
Plans are developed to maintain generation, water flows, and water storage
ensuring optimal equipment performance to meet requirements.
Range
3.5
may include but is not limited to – availability offers.
Plans are managed to respond to market changes and re-offers.
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3.6
Computer programmes and models are monitored and optimised.
3.7
Generation, water flows, and water storage are monitored.
Range
may include but is not limited to – indications, faults, defects,
status, predictions.
Element 4
Respond to and manage abnormal conditions that impact on hydrological resources.
Range
may include but is not limited to – emergency, unscheduled event, abnormal
conditions, alarms, forced outage, power system faults.
Performance criteria
4.1
System is stabilised.
Range
4.2
The event, and cause of event, and impacts on hydrology, flows and generating
assets are identified.
Range
4.3
may include but is not limited to – event reporting procedures,
logbook, event lists, SCADA, hydrology models, resource consent
compliance.
The event is responded to in a manner that meets legislative and resource
consent requirements and mitigates the severity of event impact.
Range
4.5
may include but is not limited to – alarms identified, events lists,
event recording, SCADA displays, local control, contingency plans,
emergency operating plans, hydraulic gate trippings, landslips,
high rainfall (actual and predicted), flooding of land, overtopping of
dams.
The event is analysed to identify options to remedy or mitigate undesired
conditions and identify necessary actions.
Range
4.4
may include but is not limited to – indications, levels, flows, flow
diversions, flood control measures, spilling, sluicing, maximum
generation, bypass operation.
may include but is not limited to – flow diversion, spillway gate
operation, sluicing, flood control, warnings, catchment authority,
Civil Defence, generation offers.
Event reporting is conducted.
Range
may include but is not limited to – post-event analysis,
identification of future actions, local instructions, event reporting
standards, logging, reporting, enterprise standards.
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Element 5
Prepare hydrological reports and documentation.
Range
may include but is not limited to – documents, reports, files and data prepared
in accordance with policies and procedures.
Performance criteria
5.1
Incident and event reports are prepared.
Range
5.2
may include but is not limited to – RMA, other legislation,
collection and analysis of data, log books.
Documentation for hydrology system management is prepared.
Range
may include but is not limited to – hydrological history records,
automated collection of data.
5.3
Computer logs and data are filed.
5.4
Reports, documentation and non-computer data are filed.
Please note
Providers must be accredited by NZQA, or an inter-institutional body with delegated
authority for quality assurance, before they can report credits from assessment against
unit standards or deliver courses of study leading to that assessment.
Industry Training Organisations must be accredited by NZQA before they can register
credits from assessment against unit standards.
Accredited providers and Industry Training Organisations assessing against unit standards
must engage with the moderation system that applies to those standards.
Accreditation requirements and an outline of the moderation system that applies to this
standard are outlined in the Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP). The
AMAP also includes useful information about special requirements for organisations
wishing to develop education and training programmes, such as minimum qualifications for
tutors and assessors, and special resource requirements.
Comments on this unit standard
Please contact the Electricity Supply Industry Training Organisation info@esito.org.nz if
you wish to suggest changes to the content of this unit standard.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016