2 thermal plant units shut down

RUPNAGAR
HT Correspondent

Two 210-MW units of Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant have been shut down due to a fire in cables of one unit and bursting of tubes of boiler in another unit.
Reports said a fire broke out in the cables of unit no. 3 on Monday evening after a furnace oil pipeline laid along FD fan 3A and PA fan 3A burst. Hot furnace oil started flowing out of the burst pipe and fell on the adjoining steam pipeline, which led to a fire.

Sources said a large number of cables were damaged in the fire and unit no. 3 tripped.

Later, the tubes of boil er of unit no 1 also burst, which led to the unit’s shutdown. It is alleged that the fire and bursting of tubes was caused due to lack of proper maintenance, as there is a shortage of trained staff in the thermal plant.

Sources said it would take at least a week to complete the repair work and re-commissioning of the units. Cables worth lakhs of rupees were damaged in the fire. Besides, there would be generation loss running into crores of rupees due to the closure of two units.

Thermal plant chief engineer K Lall said the units would be restarted within a week. He denied that the fire was caused due to lack of proper maintenance.