Goal

When record low temperatures and a severe winter storm were predicted for Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, in February 2021, managers at a natural gas power plant hoped to keep the plant operating. They knew they would need to secure rental heaters to prevent pipes and valves from freezing. If water vapor in the lines to the vacuum pressure steam gauges condensed and froze, inaccurate gauge readings would result, leading to safety shutdowns for the entire power generating unit. Frozen valves on water and oil pipes would prevent the liquids from circulating to cool the plant and make it impossible to produce steam for the turbine operation.

Problem

With frigid temperatures settling in over much of U.S., finding heaters was a major challenge. In addition, the plant was forced to shut down one or both of its generation units at various times because the state’s natural gas suppliers, also affected by the storm, weren’t able to maintain a steady supply of the fuel needed to run the plant. Since the plant depends on its own generated power to run its lights and computers, it needed diesel-powered generators to help maintain basic operations.

Solution

United Rentals reached out to branches as far away as Oregon and Washington state to obtain electric, gas-fired and diesel-fired heaters. To get them to Texas as fast as possible, it arranged for teams of drivers to travel day and night. To keep the lights on in the plant, United Rentals also provided several megawatts’ worth of generators and the equipment needed to connect them to the plant’s system. When the plant was completely down, the generators ran around the clock, burning 60 gallons of diesel an hour. Because diesel was in short supply, United Rentals brought in a vendor partner, which went to extraordinary lengths to fill the plant’s diesel needs, delivering 1,500 gallons of diesel fuel per night. Once temperatures rose above freezing, United Rentals sent out diesel-driven and electric pumps to help the plant remove water in areas flooded due to burst pipes.