According to the International Energy Agency, by 2030, China will account for one-fifth of the world’s total energy demand. To meet this growing need and resolve peak load glitches, the Zhejiang Provincial Electric Power Company (ZPEC) launched the Tongbai Pumped Storage Project. The challenge was to validate the pump manufacturing (in Germany and Austria), installation and operation and assure the pump complied with ASME requirements, as requested by the project sponsor: The World Bank.

ZPEC turned to Bureau Veritas for its proven expertise in the power industry and its global network. Fifteen Bureau Veritas inspectors from China, Germany and Austria formed a project team, along with technical consultants from an electricity contractor. All reported to the Bureau Veritas project manager, who served as the client’s single contact. Before launching its inspection campaign, Bureau Veritas leveraged its industry know-how to create with ZPEC and its pump supplier a technical specifications agreement. This agreement was used throughout the project to frame the validation process, and Bureau Veritas also applied its proven work methods (i.e., inspection reports, quality observation sheets, manpower conformity reports) to organize the way project data would be collected and presented. Then, Bureau Veritas dispatched local inspectors from its offices in Germany and Austria and power industry experts to carry out shop inspections of the equipment being manufactured (pump turbines, spherical valves, etc.). Next, two Bureau Veritas China power generator experts validated and supervised the equipment installation on site in Zhejiang. ZPEC entrusted additional work to Bureau Veritas, for the screening and validation of cutting, forging and welding suppliers. Their quality management systems, their facilities’ and human resources’ ability to meet requirements, and their references were taken into consideration. ZPEC also decided to hire suppliers based on Bureau Veritas’s overall evaluation practices.

By using Bureau Veritas’s international team, ZPEC saved time and money and easily met the challenge of working in multiple language and cultural contexts. Bureau Veritas experts guided ZPEC through the ASME validations; ZPEC met The World Bank’s compliance requirements. As the Bureau Veritas project leader was ZPEC’s single contact for the project (even to deal with electricity consultants), ZPEC gained more efficiency and was able to “extend” its small management team who otherwise did not have the critical size to manage the project. With a pump manufactured, installed and tested with strict validations by Bureau Veritas, ZPEC is now able to provide a more reliable service, allowing manufacturers to continue producing through peak load time. With a reliable electrical supply, manufacturers are able to operate more smoothly, thus bringing new businesses and more employment opportunities to the area.