It was in this room where electrical energy was generated by five turbogenerator units which were fed by the steam produced in the boilers. The five turbogenerator units were installed in Tejo Power Station between 1919 and 1936.
The steam coming from the boilers entered the turbine's distribution box through the admission valve, with a high enough flow rate to get the turbine to 3000 rpm. All of this drove the wheels of the turbine, which then, through a gear, made the star-wound alternator produce a three-phase current that sent to the grid a voltage of 10.5 kV at a frequency of 50 cycles per second (cps).
On the lower level of the machine room are situated the condensers for each turbogenerator unit, with all its auxiliary equipment, circulation pumps, steam air ejectors, vacuum pump, etc. These condensers’ function was to transform the steam coming from the turbines into water, so that later it could be returned to the boilers to be converted once more into steam, thereby repeating the cycle. To fullfil this steam condensation process, it was necessary to cool the water in the pipes by passing the system through a tank filled with water from the River ‘Tejo’.
Copyright @ EDP Foundation
