Luminant Power Plants Operations & Maintenance

Client: Luminant

Location: Texas, U.S.

Industry: Power

Map showing the location of Luminant Power Plants Operations & Maintenance

Executive Summary

Since 1984, Fluor has provided program management, power station maintenance, outage support, construction services and construction equipment at Luminant's 20 power-generating stations throughout Texas.

The Luminant Alliance Operations & Maintenance project received Fluor's Hugh Coble Project Excellence Award in 1995. The award is based on outstanding performance in several areas; including safety, value creation and client and community relations.

“This long 30-year relationship between Luminant and Fluor is certainly unique in this business,” said Mike Williams, Luminant's chief fossil officer. “It truly is a relationship, not just a contract. When you work side-by-side for this long, you develop a deep level of trust and familiarity. It's a relationship that works because Fluor understands what we're about and is committed to making our goals their goals – not to mention, they're good at what they do. Fluor shares in our responsibility of powering Texas safely and reliably.”

Client's Challenge

Luminant is the largest power provider in Texas, with a diverse fleet of gas, nuclear and lignite / coal fueled plants spanning north, east and west Texas. These plants collectively provide more than 15,400 megawatts of electric generation capacity.

The company's overall objective is to meet the long-term power needs of its customers. With a geographically dispersed fleet, Luminant needed an effective solution to fulfill the continuous and intermittent maintenance and capital project needs of its gas- and coal-fueled units.

Fluor's Solution

Fluor's solution balances the consistency of a centralized approach with the responsiveness of self-directed site teams. A core management and technical team works with Luminant to guide the overall program, coordinate resource deployment and help plan major outages. Dedicated site-based teams perform ongoing maintenance for plants requiring full-time support, while supplemental resources support plants requiring periodic support.

Because the work requires close interaction between Fluor personnel and the individual plant operating teams, the overall program is executed in a highly collaborative arrangement. A joint Luminant / Fluor steering committee meets regularly to ensure alignment with Luminant's business objectives.

Today, nearly 400 Fluor staff and craft personnel provide full-time support for Luminant, increasing up to 1,500 personnel during major plant outages.

Conclusion

This cooperative relationship creates a working environment that encourages and rewards teamwork, innovation and continuous improvement.

Plant reliability is enhanced through consistent application of best practices, operating costs are reduced through improved employee productivity and outage durations are shortened through detailed planning and scheduling.

Both companies work together to make personal, plant and community safety top priorities and to create a workforce focused on meeting the energy needs of Luminant's customers.