ENHANCEMENT OF POWER UNIT FLEXIBILITY USING PRESSURE ACCUMULATION OF HOT WATER Authors: Jan Taler, Marcin Trojan, Dawid Taler, Piotr Dzierwa, Karol Kaczmarski, Marcin Liszka ("Rynek Energii" - 1/2017) Key words: flexibility of thermal power units, power output increasing, lowering of minimum load, pressure accumulation of hot water Summary. Calculations were performed of the thermal system of a power plant with installed water pressure tanks. The maximum rise in the block electric power resulting from the shut-off of low-pressure regenerative heaters is determined. At that time, the boiler is fed with hot water from water pressure tanks acting as heat accumulators. Accumulation of hot water in water tanks is also proposed in the periods of the power unit small load. In order to lower the plant electric power in the night off-peak hours, water is heated to the nominal temperature in the feed water tank and then directed to water pressure tanks. The water accumulated during the night is used to feed the boiler in the period of peak demand for electricity. Drops in the power block electric power were determined for different capacities of the tanks and periods when they are charged. A financial and economic profitability analysis (of costs and benefits) is made of the use of tanks for a 200 MW power unit. Operating in the automatic system of frequency and power control (in Polish: ARCM), the tanks may also be used to ensure a sudden increase in the electric power of the unit. The results of the performed calculations and analyses indicate that installation of water pressure tanks is well justified. The investment is profitable. Water pressure tanks may not only be used to reduce the power unit power during the night off-peak hours and raise it in the periods of peak demand but also to increase the power capacity fast at any time. They may also be used to fill the boiler evaporator with hot water during the power unit start-up from the cold state. 1. INTRODUCTION A due to the rapid development of wind farms, photovoltaic cells, and other dispersed energy sources, considerable oscillations occur in electric power generation. If a power shortage is created in the electric power system, electricity needs to be supplied to the power grid quickly by thermal power plants. A requirement is also imposed on state-of-the-art power units to make it possible to raise or lower the power capacity at the rate of 2÷8% of installed power per minute in the full range of control, i.e. from the minimum to the maximum load. The power unit start-up from different states should also proceed fast. The manufacturer of state- of-the-art power units is obliged to carry out the following tests: