Energy Flows

Hydropower

Risk Management for Hydropower Plants

The economical effeciency of your hydropower plant crucially depends on the flow rates and flow velocity of the water. A temporal loss of revenue in the event of damage may jeopardize the annual result.   

The primary focus when assessing risks of hydroelectric power plants lies on property damage risks. Turbines, for example, (e.g. Francis, Pelton or Kaplan turbines) are, alone by virtue of their rotational movement, susceptible to damage, especially to those of a mechanical nature. An adequate property insurance protection which also covers consequential losses is therefore absolutely essential for you as an operator of a hydropower plant. 


For a comprehensive risk management it is also important to consider environmental risks. In case of environmental damage caused by the operation of your plant, third-party or public-law claims are imminent and could entail costs endangering the existence of a company, not to mention the negative image in the public eye.

Given the tangible impacts of climate change, risks arising from natural hazards should also be sufficiently addressed. Increased risks of flooding, for example, may pose a threat to the continued existence of your hydropower plant. Many facilities are decades or centuries-old, so that usually neither their building structure nor their electrical systems are sufficiently equipped to resist the forces of nature. In case that a natural hazard event causes serious mechanical breakdown, you might incur revenue losses which you cannot absorb without relevant insurance protection.