System That Cost State $58 Million Did Not Work

Baku / 05.07.18 / Turan: Events in the Azerbaijan Thermal Power Plant showed that the SCADA electronic system for real-time management passed in 2012 did not work in the electric network and the control room of Azerenerji OJSC acted "manually", the expert Osman Gunduz said.

According to him, the SCADA system in the electricity distribution network was created due to a loan from the World Bank ($ 47 million) and the German bank KfW ($ 3 million). In total, taking into account the state budget, the creation of the system cost the state $ 58 million.

Within SCADA, it was envisaged to unite all the existing power plants in a single fiber optic network, create three control points, automatically manage possible accidents in energy facilities from the distance, etc.

"We can conclude that the SCADA system failed at the time of the accident, and when making decisions on restoring the work of the power complex, it became impossible to use its capabilities. I think the state commission will study the viability of this system before the July 3 incident," the expert notes.

According to Osman Gunduz, the German company Siemens took part in the first stage of creating the SCADA system. But in 2007 the government abandoned its services and the work was entrusted to the French company Areva. -----08D