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Generated power of thermal power plant is closely related to efficient work of cooling towers, via condenser pressure affected by output temperature of cooling water. Performance characteristics of cooling system can be rated via several parameters such as: thermal effectiveness, Merkel number, number of transfer units, and overall heat and mass transfer coefficient. Results gathered during acceptance test of cooling system of thermal power plant Kakanj (unit 7) which consists of 12 wet counterflow induced draft cooling towers, are used to evaluate its most important performance characteristics. It is shown that some tower performance characteristic vary during the day more than others due to their dependence on climatic parameters, particularly air wet bulb temperature. Different approaches and methods (analytical and empirical) for evaluation of tower performance are discussed in order to define the most appropriate performance characteristic and calculation method which can be used for establishing the optimal working mode of analysed cooling system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]