ABB Commissions Symphony Plus HMI At IGCC Power Plant In Florida

S+ Operations provides a low-risk, high-quality, state-of-the-art solution

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, recently announced that it has successfully commissioned a Symphony Plus upgrade at Tampa Electric’s (TECO) Polk Power Station.

Tampa Electric's Polk Power Station is an integrated coal gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) power plant that produces 260 MWs, enough electricity to serve 75,000 homes. The plant began commercial operation in the fall of 1996 and is among the nation's cleanest, most efficient and most economical power generation units.

The project replaced the existing INFI-90 VMS consoles with S+ Operations, ABB’s most modern human-machine interface (HMI), designed specifically for power and water plants.  ABB was selected for the project due to its low-risk solution that brought the plant into a modern operating environment in the most cost-effective manner, and for the inherent advantages of its simple, scalable, seamless and secure Symphony Plus control system.

“ABB’s evolution of operating displays provided an economical solution to upgrading from VMS consoles. It provided our operations team with a familiar operating environment, while at the same time adding important new functionality,” said Tom Cross, DCS Specialist, Tampa Electric. “The new Symphony Plus HMIs were commissioned while the existing VMS consoles continued to operate.  This allowed us to greatly reduce project risk, while allowing our operators the time they needed to become comfortable and proficient with the new system.”

“ABB has a long history of helping our clients evolve their existing assets in a cost-effective and low risk manner,” said Massimo Danieli, head of ABB’s Power Generation business, a part of the company’s Power Systems division. “This is a key benefit of our commitment to evolution without obsolescence, which allows our customers to maximize the return on their original investment, while continuing to evolve their systems to take advantage of the latest technologies. We diligently strive to help our customers do more with less and get the most out of their investments.”

This announcement was made at the ABB Automation & Power World conference and exhibition, ABB’s premier customer gathering, held this year in Orlando.

About ABB 
ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 145,000 people. The company's North American operations, headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, employ about 27,000 people in multiple manufacturing, service and other major facilities. For more information, visit www.abb.com