Fiddler’s Ferry Power Station – Gas Turbine House

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Four English Electric Twin Avon gas turbo-generator sets, each rated at17.5 megawatt (MW), were installed in a separate building to the south of the 275,000 volt substation. Each set was arranged to supply the electrical auxiliary load of one of the 500 MW steam turbine/boiler units at times of low grid frequency.

The gas turbine sets could also deliver power to the Grid at times of peak demand and could be used to start a ‘dead’ station in conditions of national emergency. Each gas turbo-generator consists of two Rolls Royce Avon’ aero-type gas generators. Gas oil was supplied from bulk storage tanks through a gravity-fed system.

When conditions of falling frequency was detected by a low frequency relay, an automatic sequence would be initiated, which runs up the generators and matches speed and voltage of the corresponding 500 MW sat.