Punjab Newsline
BBMB seeks CEA’s help to set right performance of Ganguwal and Kotla units
VINIOD KUMAR GUPTA
Saturday, 13 June 2009
CHANDIGARH: Bhakra Beas Management Board has sought the help of the Central Electricity Authority to set right the underperformance of units renovated by BHEL at the Ganguwal and Kotla power houses.

The Ganguwal and Kotla power houses under BBMB have three units each. Two units are of 24.2 MW and third unit is of 29-5 MW with a total capacity of 77.65 MW. The two units at Ganguwal and Kotla were originally supplied by Westing House while third unit was supplied by Hitachi.

The renovation and up rating of two units each at these power houses was given to BHEL and third unit was given to Hitachi..
Subsequent to renovation by BHEL both units were running below capacity. Further Unit no. II at Ganguwal and Unit no. III at Kotla power house have demonstrated excessive vibrations, and cavitations and cracks in the runner blades, consequent to the modification.

According to sources BHEL made changes in the runner design, from Kaplan to the Propeller type. BHEL after two-phased renovation, modernization and up rating programme, which occurred during 1997-98 and 2000-01, replaced the runners free of charge. However, these problems still persist.

A senior BBMB official said that they are again taking up the matter with BHEL at the highest level . The problem of excessive vibrations has been solved to some extent.

Another official said that these issues point to a lack of technical acumen on the part of BHEL, since the first units of both the two power houses that were revised in a similar manner in 2006-07, by Hitachi, however, are functioning satisfactorily.

Meanwhile CEA has asked the BBMB to wrap up the R & M activities at 990 MW Dehar Power House in HP by the end of the 11th. Plan

According to sources BBMB had awarded the work order for the supply of four sets of microprocessor-based, automatic, digital excitation equipment, along with excitation transformers, to a company way back in 2005. The contract is yet to be concluded, as the excitation transformers failed during the impulse voltage test however alternative excitation transformers offered has been tested successfully in March 2009. The governors for units 3, 4 and 5 have been replaced, while the ones for units 1 and 2 are planned to be swapped in November-December 2009.

According to sources BBMB has assured the CEA in a recent meeting that every effort would be made to complete all the pending work by December 2009.