Venezuela's Planta Centro Derated to 460 Megawatts after Boiler Failure

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The 2,000-megawatt (MW) Planta Centro complex, one of Latin America's largest thermal power plants, has been reduced to 460 MW since September 21, due to boiler failure on Unit 4. The boilers of units 1 and 5 have been undergoing conversions to gas since August 2003. The facility is owned and operated by Compania Anonima de Administracion y Fomento Electrico, a subsidiary of Corpoelec, Venezuela's state-owned utility.

Unit 2 is only generating 250 MW because of a problem with the vacuum condenser. In addition, there is problem with the turbine's speed sensor, which is expected to be repaired in future maintenance.

Unit 3 is generating only 210 MW from its 500-MW capacity due to the unavailability of feedwater pump "B," which has no engine at the moment. The plant is awaiting permission to perform the engine rewind. In addition, this machine had been down in June of this year because of several leaks in the air-gas system. For more details, view June 25, 2009, article- Venezuela's Planta Centro Continues To Be Derated Because of Equipment Failure.

Unit 4 has been down since September 21, due to a strong gas leak in the boiler caused by the opening of the circuit breaker BA01, after a power cut caused by humid air in the area. This unit had been reduced to 300 MW of its 500-MW capacity because of low oxygen levels caused by several leaks in the air-gas system.

The gas-conversion tasks were supposed to be completed in March of this year for Unit 1 and by mid-2010 for Unit 5. However, works on Unit 1 that are being carried out by Alstom Power are completed 95% and are expected to be concluded in the coming months, according to plant's authorities.

The end date is still uncertain on Unit 5 because of a fire that occurred in the auxiliary transformer, BT02. In recent months, the plant has been generating between 100 MW and 600 MW of electricity.

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