Technical snags in Chinese equipment led to power crisis
Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 23
Frequent technical snags in the Chinese equipment used in the recently commissioned power plants of Haryana, have led to an acute shortage of power supply. At a time when the demand for power has peaked because of the ongoing paddy season, all four units erected using the Chinese equipment have remained shut.
The two units at the Deen Bandhu Chottu Ram Thermal Power Plant in Yamunanagar, each of 300 MW, have remained out of order for quite some time now. In Khedar, while one unit of 600 MW at the Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant has been brought back into operation last night, the second unit of 600 MW is not operational.
Sources in the Power Department said all four units set up using Chinese equipment and the rotors in these units had developed snags. Though officials deny it, but technical staff in the Power Department said besides developing technical snags because of usage of coal adulterated with stones these plants were also consuming much more fuel than the plants made by using Indian turbines. Moreover, since Chinese manufacturers of these equipments do not have any workshops here, these parts could not be repaired and have to be sent back to the manufacturers in China.
It is learnt that earlier too, one 300-MW unit at Yamunanagar had developed a fault in its rotor, which the government got repaired from Seimens India. In Khedar, the plant stopped working after a bend developed in the rotor because of a low foundation of the plant. “While this plant has been repaired, we are hopeful of getting the other unit of 600 MW operational soon. The equipment in the second unit at Yamunanagar has been sent to China for repair and we will get it back within a few months. We expect the plant to become operational by December. We are now thinking of calling some representatives of the Chinese manufacturers here for the maintenance of these power plants,” said Haryana Power Minister Capt Ajay Yadav. He added that during the recent conference of the Power Ministers he had raised the issue of the government asking the Chinese manufacturers to set up a repair and service centre in India.
So, while the Haryana Government is trying to get the equipment repaired and re-commission the plants, the state is facing a shortage of 1,200 MW of power from its own generation capacity, thus leading to power cuts on all categories of consumers. The total demand for power as of today is 1,400 lakh units (LUs). As against this, the total power availability, which includes the state’s own generation capacity, the power purchased through short-term arrangements, power bought on the power exchanges through unscheduled interchange and through power banking is around 1,250 LUs. This means that there is a shortfall of about 100-150 LUs of power each day.
Officials in the Power Department said other than the four plants made using Chinese equipment, one unit of 100 MW at the Panipat thermal power plant had not been operational. Besides, erratic coal supply to the 1300-MW power plant commissioned in Jhajjar earlier this year, was also leading to less generation from the plant.