Power Industry Total Cost of Ownership

by Shell

In the power sector, there are two fundamental approaches that can reduce the total cost of ownership. The first to ensure that every piece of equipment has the most appropriate lubricant solution. The second is to implement effective lubrication management.

Lubrication has a critical impact on overall maintenance costs in this sector. At Shell, our expertise goes beyond producing high quality lubricants; our technical specialists can help you to optimise your lubrication management, and ensure that your workforce is trained in this essential discipline. This will maximise your equipment efficiency and extend component life through the most effective lubrication.

The great changes in the power sector, experienced around the world, at different rates and to service different needs – has in turn created great change in lubricants. Shell’s experts continuously strive to develop and optimise products and lubrication management processes that are genuinely capable of serving the ever-divergent needs of the power sector.

In turbine oils alone, protecting the equipment from downtime or breakdown from the immense stress that the latest turbines are capable of bearing, requires a highly capable lubricant with exceptional resistances to degradation to increase productivity.

But it is not only new machinery that is testing the talents of lubrication experts, the average age of a power transformers in many countries is now around 30 years. Many companies are operating equipment close to or beyond its original recommended lifespan due to the high capital cost involved in replacing a unit. While lubrication cannot prevent the inevitable, Shell’s specialists are working with companies within the power sector to install lubrication practices capable of extending the already strenuous activity of the older transformers.

Despite global change, modern power plant operators will continue to demand three things from an oil or grease: improved system efficiency; reliable equipment protection; and longer oil and equipment life. For Shell Lubricants, helping customers reduce the total cost of equipment ownership in the present day is the first step. While looking ahead to identify the next generation
of lubrication products and services that will continue to give companies a competitive edge in the future.

_{‘Based on research commissioned by Shell Lubricants, conducted by Edelman Intelligence (Nov - Dec 2015.)}

1. _{Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is defined by Shell Lubricants as the total amount spent on the equipment, incl. cost of acquisition and operation over its entire working life, and costs from lost production during downtime.}
2. _{Based on savings delivered to Shell Lubricants customers.’}