District Council Members Convene at Greifenstein Power Plant
At the initiative of VERBUND, the district council members for Lower Austria met together at the Greifenstein Danube power plant and took advantage of the opportunity to exchange experiences and to take a tour of the turbines.
Flooding and renaturation measures on the Danube were the main topics of discussion at the exchange of experiences between VERBUND and the district commissioners as part of the March meeting at the Lower Austrian district commissioners' conference.
From Amstetten to Zwettl, female and male district commissioners made use of the opportunity to combine their conference with the exchange of experiences with the power plant operator VERBUND. The participants got to hear first hand accounts of current information regarding the renaturation measures along the Danube within the framework of the EU funded project LIFE+ Network Danube and LIFE+ Traisen.
Exchange of Experiences Regarding the Floods
How the flood of the century in 2013 came about was a hefty topic as well as the role played by the power plants during a flood. Insights into the internal crisis management undertaken by VERBUND, the communication with the official crisis management group and the limited possibilities of the power plant operators during large floods were discussed intensively. During the discussions, Heinz Allmer, Head of the Lower Austrian Danube power plants at VERBUND, reextended the offer of holding another similar information event, but also with representatives of the community and emergency services of the local communities on the Danube.
Tour of the Power Plant and Turbine Visit
The spectacular climax of the visit to the power plant was seeing an inactive turbine deep under the Danube. In times of low water levels, every year individual turbines on the Danube are switched off and left to dry. In three weeks, the enormous, over 7 metre large rotor blades will be inspected and, where necessary, improved. The delicate storage of the turbines will be checked, corrosion protection will be applied and the blades will be reground. The works will be completed by the beginning of April and the machines will go back into operation.
For technical details regarding the power plant visit: www.verbund.com/greifenstein
