M A I N   N E W S

A Tribune investigation
Rotor snag results in Rs 30 cr loss
Ropar Thermal Plant unit closed since Aug 24
From Sarbjit Singh
Tribune News Service

ROPAR, Sept 25 — Who is responsible for the big loss suffered by the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) due to the bogging down of Unit-IV of the Ropar Thermal Plant because of a fault in its rotor? This question has assumed significance as Unit-IV is off since August 24 and the PSEB has suffered a loss by way of generation worth about Rs 30 crore.

Investigations made by Tribune News Service have revealed that because of a fault in the rotor, Unit IV was shut on August 24. In a week or so, Unit IV was again put in operation by replacing the faulty rotor with a spare one lying in the inventory of the plant. However, the spare rotor was highly “imbalanced” and it caused vibrations in the unit, leading to its closure. Sources said that experts from BHEL were at present working to “balance” the rotor and make the unit operational again.

Mr Suresh Gupta, Member (Generation) of the PSEB, said Unit-IV was expected to resume operation on September 27. He said that to balance the rotor, weights had been attached by BHEL experts. When asked why an “untested” rotor was put in the unit, leading to not only vibrations but also huge financial loss by way of generation to the PSEB, Mr Gupta said that BHEL experts had said that nothing was wrong with the rotor and it was fit for use.

However, sources said the spare rotor was taken out of Unit IV in January this year. It was repaired by the BHEL experts and in the second week of May, they had certified that the rotor was fit for use. The plant authorities did not get it tested and kept it as a spare one despite the fact that the PSEB authorities had given administrative approval on August 2 to get it tested from BHEL at its factory near Hardwar. When all of a sudden, the rotor in Unit-IV developed an “earth fault” on August 24, the plant authorities put the untested spare rotor to replace the faulty one. Officials in the PSEB said high velocity vibrations were considered dangerous as these could lead to the destabilisation of the generator and turbine part of the unit.

Mr Gupta said it was true that the spare rotor was imbalanced and it caused vibrations in Unit-IV of the plant.

The sources said during this month, the Ropar plant had suffered a big loss in generation. According to figures available, last month — from August 1 to August 25, the Ropar Thermal Plant generated 6,570 lakh units while this month, the generation was 4,610 lakh units so far. A senior officer of the PSEB said that it was a big loss during the months when the state need maximum power for catering to the agriculture sector for nursing the paddy crop. The PSEB authorities should explain to people what was happening at its plant and how much financial loss the PSEB had suffered in recent months due to closure of Unit IV.

Unit-III was shut on September 13 because of leakages in the condenser and boiler pipes. The generation loss due to closure of this unit to the PSEB will be worth Rs 10 crore, a senior functionary of the Ropar Thermal Plant said. Mr Gupta said that Unit III might be put on steam tonight. About the recurring leakages in the Ropar Thermal Plant leading to shutting of its various units, Mr Gupta said that, perhaps due to age factor leakages were taking place.

However, a senior officer at the plant revealed that heavy water was responsible for the leakages in the pipes. Due to heavy water, the pipes had been corroded, leading to leakages. The water used in the plant should be properly demineralised before its use in the condenser and boiler units. The sources said that apart from normal trippings, breakdowns in various units had become a frequent affair.