Choked boiler tubes just after overhauling of RTP unit
June 08, 2012 05:08 PM
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The unit no.1 of Ropar thermal plant was on annual maintenance for 38 days from April 29. The unit was synchronized on June 3 four days ahead of schedule. The management claimed a saving of Rs. 8 crore due to early synchronization. It may be mentioned that during annual maintenance major overhauling of boiler including acid cleaning was done

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ROPAR: The closure of 210 MW unit of Ropar thermal plant just after overhauling due to choking of boiler tubes has raised doubts on quality of boiler maintenance.

The unit no.1 of Ropar thermal plant was on annual maintenance for 38 days from April 29. The unit was synchronized on June 3 four days ahead of schedule. The management claimed a saving of Rs. 8 crore due to early synchronization. It may be mentioned that during annual maintenance major overhauling of boiler including acid cleaning was done.

The unit had to be closed down due to boiler leakage very next day on June 4. The unit was revived in early hours of June 7 but before full load could be achieved boiler leakage was again detected and unit had to shut down.

According to sources boiler leakage occurred due to choking of boiler tubes in re-heater zone. A senior official said that only proper investigation can determine the exact cause for choking of boiler tubes just after overhauling. The choking of boiler tubes just after the overhauling has put the question mark on management’s claim of saving of Rs. 8 crore due to early commissioning

According to sources BHEL engineers have been called in to find the blockade in boiler tubes. BHEL engineers are likely to start the inspection work today after cooling of boiler. The exact location of choked tubes is to be ascertained by BHEL staff. .

Meanwhile power demand in state is more than 1410 lakh units and shortage is about 43 lac units. This is despite the fact that state is overdrawing 40 lac units daily. The unannounced power cuts especially during peak hours are becoming a routine.

The 8 hour power supply for agriculture is to be started from Sunday and any outage of thermal unit will put pressure on consumers in the hot season. PSPCL has made arrangements for additional power purchase for paddy season.