Assessing Feasibility of Operations and Maintenance Automation – A Case of Small Hydropower Plants

The recent developments in Information and Communication Technologies enable remote monitoring and control of distributed work systems and, in turn, development of new products and services related to their operations and maintenance (O&M). The paper focuses on O&M of small hydropower plants (SHP) and assesses the feasibility of different levels of O&M automation. A model for O&M of SHPs is developed and used as a basis for an event-based simulation. A case analysis of 85 Slovenian SHPs is presented. The parameters of the model are determined based on publicly available data and data gathered through a survey amongst the SHP operators. The feasibility calculations are performed for three scenarios describing different levels of automation. The results show how the presented approach can assist in decision-making of individual SHP operators, O&M services providers, and policy makers.