Mechanical Issues Cause for Extended Outage in Midwest

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Tulsa Power Station, a 435-megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired facility, wholly-owned by Public Service of Oklahoma (PSO), has experienced major mechanical issues this year. A 170 MW unit at this station has been offline for several weeks due to various generator-related concerns. It initially went offline for rotor failure and officials at the plant decided to keep the unit off to perform a generator/stator rewind and other miscellaneous repairs. The unit first came down in early May and was set to return in early July, but a delay in parts arrival forced the plant to extend the unplanned outage an additional three weeks, when contacts are estimating completion of the maintenance. This same station experienced a prolonged outage that lasted for over a year due to condenser-related issues and within a week of its return, the current outage commenced.

Soaring temperatures in the Midwest have been the cause of many heat-related outages and equipment failures. Some nuclear plants in this region have de-rated due to the excruciating heat that is putting stress on the availability of electricity in the region. Though natural gas prices are at an all-time high, stations with this type of fuel are still being run due to market demand.

PSO is based in Tulsa, with regulatory and external affairs offices in Oklahoma City, and serves 514,000 customers throughout Oklahoma. PSO is part of the American Electric Power system, which serves more than 5 million customers across eleven states. AEP is the nation’s largest electricity generator with more than 36,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.

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