35%+ increase in availability | 90% peak availability | US$6M/year profitability impact 2 years from non-operation to sustained generation
A baseload power plant had been unable to operate consistently for an extended period, limiting its ability to add dependable capacity to the national grid. After earlier commissioning challenges, the plant needed a sustained performance turnaround to improve availability, support stable operation, and help restore the project’s financial viability.
Asset Performance Partners (APP) began working with the site team in August 2021. The objective was to improve plant availability and usable capacity by reducing breakdowns, strengthening operational decision-making, and embedding better day-to-day asset performance practices into the plant’s operations.
The turnaround showed in the numbers. Over the first two years, the plant achieved an increase in availability of more than 35%, reached a peak availability of 90%, and delivered an estimated profitability impact of approximately $6 million per year. Just as importantly, the plant was able to contribute stable baseload electricity to the grid, supporting wider energy reliability in the region.
THE CHALLENGE
Before APP’s involvement, the plant had struggled to sustain operation and had not been adding meaningful capacity to the grid.
The underlying issue was not only mechanical reliability but also the need to move the plant from intermittent or distressed operation into a more disciplined operating rhythm.
In this kind of environment, breakdowns undermine confidence in the asset, affect commercial viability, and place pressure on the operating team. A plant that cannot sustain availability cannot properly fulfil its role as a baseload generation asset. The team needed better insight into what was driving downtime, clearer visibility into plant health, and stronger support for decisions that affected both daily production and long-term asset condition.
THE APP APPROACH
APP provided specialist engineering support focused on the ACC and associated Balance of Plant equipment.
APP’s role was not limited to a one-off recommissioning intervention. The APP services team became embedded in the operating environment and formed a critical part of the plant’s operations and maintenance support.
APP applied its asset performance methodology to help the plant team make better operational and maintenance decisions over time. This included the APP Smart Asset Management Platform to deliver reports, active dashboards, and risk insight to support decisions ranging from daily production optimisation to longer-term plant health planning.
The platform helped the team move from reacting to breakdowns towards a more structured view of downtime trends, operational risks, and asset condition. This gave the operating team a clearer basis for deciding where to
focus attention, which issues required escalation, and how day-to-day decisions affected long-term availability.
The approach was built around the principle that every better asset decision contributes to improved performance. Over time, those decisions compound into a stronger operating position.
findings AND VALUE DELIVERED
The improvement was evident in reduced downtime and stronger operating performance through 2022 and 2023.
After two years of non-operation due to commissioning issues, the plant was restarted and entered sustained operation. APP’s support helped increase availability by more than 35% over the first two years, driven by a reduction in breakdowns. Peak availability reached 90%, showing a clear step-change from the plant’s previous operating performance.
The commercial impact was also material. The availability improvement contributed to an estimated $6 million per year in profitability impact. For an asset that had previously struggled to operate reliably, this represented a meaningful financial and technical turnaround.
The operational improvement also had wider system value. By restoring stable baseload generation, the plant contributed capacity to the national grid and supported energy stability in the region.
A STRONGER OPERATING MODEL
The engagement changed how performance was managed at the plant. APP’s embedded services and platform-enabled insight gave the operating team a more reliable view of production performance, downtime drivers, and asset health.
Rather than treating availability improvement as a single intervention, the work established a more disciplined operating model. Better data could inform daily production decisions. Maintenance and operational priorities could be linked to risk. Long-term plant health could be managed with better visibility.
That shift was important because reliable baseload performance depends on consistency. A plant can be restarted once, but sustaining performance requires the operating team to make better decisions repeatedly, under real production pressure.
LOOKING AHEAD
For the plant owner and operating team, the turnaround created a stronger foundation for future performance. Improved availability, reduced breakdowns, and clearer decision support have helped restore confidence in the asset’s ability to operate as a meaningful baseload contributor.
For APP, the engagement demonstrates the value of combining embedded operational support, asset performance methodology, and platform-enabled insight in distressed or underperforming generation environments.
In power generation, a turnaround is not only measured by whether a plant runs again. It is measured by whether the operating team can sustain performance, protect plant health, and keep improving after recovery.
