Key business achievements whilst at Drax Power Station

  • Led a Continuous Improvement Group which reduced the annual boiler tube leak breakdown rate from 49 to 21 and reduced forced outage rates from to 11.5% to 5% which is an industry leading standard.
  • Produced a detailed 30-year strategic investment plan that was an essential part of the three successful financial restructurings and the listing that were carried out by AES and Drax Power Ltd. This turned the station from a distressed and almost bankrupt facility into a FTSE 100 company.
  • Led the technical due diligence for the proposed acquisition of a 1200 MW power station in Turkey and was the lead engineer of a team which carried out the due diligence of a 200 MW power station in Sicily.
  • Introduced and audited a rigorous and objective engineering risk assessment process. This assisted in the evaluation of commercial exposure from major and minor plant failures and enabled better prioritisation of planned investment. This also gave the Drax PLC board and other stakeholders the confidence that the plant risks were being addressed appropriately.
  • Justified new expenditure of over £100m for a number of major Capex projects, which included new HP & LP cylinders for all of the main turbines along with new condenser tubes and replacement HP heaters for three of the units. These will increase the station efficiency by around 1.5% and give an NPV of ~£60m over 10 years.
  • Completed numerous major capex projects to cost, time and agreed quality standards including: a new plant interface & control system (£20.5 total) and a boosted over-fire air system for the main boilers (£24m total). These secured the continued life of the station beyond the 2008 LCPD NOx emission limits.
  • Carried out a re-organisation of the engineering and maintenance department and re-introduced first-line supervision to the craft workforce; re-introduced shift maintenance teams, new day stagger rosters and abolished “relief from duty days” (a legacy from CEGB industrial relations).
  • Co-ordinated the first successful total station black start (restarting two main units with all external supplies disconnected).
  • Led a continuous improvement group that improved the Winter Business Day Availability of the station from 96.5 % in 96/97 to 98.5% in 97/98 and to 98.9% in 98/99.
  • Developed excellent relationships with lenders engineers, insurance brokers & engineers, loss adjusters and other consultancies carrying out surveys, audits and due diligence on the plant.