Explosion at Unit 14 of Venezuela’s Punto Fijo Power Station Forces Shutdown

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--On September 7, 2007, an explosion occurred at Venezuela’s Punto Fijo Thermal Plant, managed by state-owned electricity company CADAFE (Compañía Anónima de Administración y Fomento Eléctrico). Contamination of gas turbine No. 14’s compartment and an oil leak at bearing #4 triggered the blast. The unit was immediately taken offline.

Unit 14 is equipped with a 40-megawatt (MW) General Electric NB-7000 Gas Turbine and is placed within the 200 MW thermal power station in Las Margaritas, Falcon State. At this time, Punto Fijo’s Units 7 and 13 are out of work for rehabilitation. Unit 14 was scheduled to be restored next December, but plant officials said the shutdown will be postponed because of the incident. For more information, view September 7, 2007, news article - Punto Fijo’s Unit 7 Start-Up Date Delayed After 8 Months of Rehabilitation.

State-owned company PDVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.) is assisting CADAFE with Unit 14’s repairs. The companies are developing a lifting plan to extract the generator's rotor. The unit will resume its operations in two weeks, plant officials said.

CADAFE was founded October 25, 1958, and it generates, transmits, distributes and commercializes electric energy. It has five subsidiaries within the Venezuelan territory: CADELA, ELEORIENTE, ELEOCCIDENTE, ELECENTRO and DESURCA.

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