ČEZ to invest CZK 800 million in Dlouhé stráně power plant in Czechia this year and last

Energy group ČEZ will invest more than CZK 800 million over last year and this year in repairs and upgrades to the pumped-storage hydropower plant Dlouhé stráně in the Šumperk region. The investment is mainly going towards replacing key parts of the turbine-generator units, which have been in operation at the pumped-storage hydropower plant for almost 30 years. The hundreds of millions of crowns in investment will ensure the reliable operation of Dlouhé stráně in the coming years. ČTK was told today by ČEZ Group spokesman Vladislav Sobol.

“The importance of Dlouhé stráně to the Czech energy system grows year by year, which is why we have been investing over the long term in improving the plant’s operational reliability and safety. We have completed an important upgrade of unit TG2, and this year we will modernize the plant’s other half, unit TG1. Altogether, this will represent an investment of more than CZK 800 million. But our work to maintain the plant will not end there: after 2030, we plan further, even more significant investments,” said Jan Kalina, ČEZ board member and director of its renewables and conventional energy division.

Last year, technicians replaced the stator winding on unit TG2 and aligned the entire unit, upgraded its control system, repaired the hydraulic motors and applied new internal coatings to the water conduits running from the upper reservoir to the turbine. “A similar plan has been prepared this year for the repair of unit TG1, which will run from March until November,” said ČEZ Hydropower Plants director Róbert Heczko.

Experts are also preparing several smaller repairs at the pumped-storage plant this year. “The plan includes a complete upgrade of the camera and security system; the more advanced technology will also enable facial recognition. We are planning to renovate the mastic coating on the inside walls of the upper reservoir, which is intended to improve UV protection for the asphalt lining, and to replace the limnigraphs—stations that measure water levels on the Desná River—which were washed away by floods (last September),” said plant director Ludvík Štrobl.

The Dlouhé stráně pumped-storage hydropower plant, which began operating in 1996, serves as a giant battery. In the Czech energy system, it is used both to absorb surplus energy, which is then used to pump water from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir, and during periods of energy shortages, when it generates electricity and sells it at a higher price. The plant is playing an increasingly important role in balancing unstable supplies from renewable energy sources.

According to Štrobl, Dlouhé stráně also serves as a water reservoir. Before last year’s floods, which caused billions of crowns in damage in the Jeseník and Šumperk regions, the plant freed up capacity in the lower reservoir and was then able to hold back water flowing in from the Divoká Desná and surrounding hills for three days. This significantly helped many communities downstream of the plant, from Loučná nad Desnou to Šumperk.