Thursday, December 28, 2017

GE Turbine Problems Hit Power Generation at 3 Pakistani Plants

Pakistan's Central Power Purchasing Agency's report shows that General Electric's 9HA-Class turbines produced only half of their capacity this August, according to Reuters. Power executives and government officials in the country said the GE turbines had operational issues like long outages and production delays.

GE Turbine Problems:

Bhikki Power Plant, Punjab, Pakistan
The GE turbine problems affected three key plants – Bhikki of Punjab government and Balloki and Haveli Bahadur Shah of the federal government – with a total capacity of 3,600MW that are considered crucial to end load shedding within the ruling PMLN's 5-year term ending middle of 2018.

Consequences For Pakistan:

Pakistan's government is failing to deliver on its promise to end load-shedding this year because of serious issues with GE's 9HA-Class turbine.

"It had terrible consequences because we lost a lot of power which would have come to the grid during the peak summer," Yousuf Naseem Khokhar, a top official in Pakistan's Energy Ministry's power division, told Reuters. "It is now up to General Electric to rise to the challenge and to take care of these issues ... before next summer starts," he said.

Pakistan is recognized as a major growth market for power turbine makers because its booming economy has a well-developed gas infrastructure. General Electric has lost a lot of credibility after its failure to deliver in Pakistan. The country awarded its most recent power contract to Siemens, after bidding by several companies, including GE.

Impact on GE Business:

General Electric claims its 9HA-Class turbines are highly efficient turbines which have secured place in the Guinness World Records of 2016, for the amount of electricity they have produced from natural gas at a power plant in Bouchain, France. The Bouchain plant has had 26 forced outages in the 15 months ending November, according to data published by operator Electricite de France (EDF).

JPMorgan analyst Stephen Tusa has warned GE's Pakistan problems could affect other plants around the world, where GE has already "sold" 30 units. GE dismissed criticism, saying the turbines were merely experiencing setup challenges. But the problem could be another setback in a year of plunging stock and "horrible" third-quarter results for the company whose stock has already suffered a major decline this year.

Summary: 

General Electric 9HA-Class gas turbines are not delivering the power Pakistan was counting on to end unscheduled power outages in the country.  These problems could hurt election prospects for Pakistan's ruling PMLN party if they are not fixed soon and the party fails to keep its promise to end electricity load-shedding.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Pakistan Among Fastest Growing LNG Markets

PMLN to End Load Shedding 

CPEC to Create 2 Million New Jobs

Pakistan's Booming Economy







10 comments:

Ahsan H. said...

A country that has acute power shortage
does not need turbines with operational
issues.

Rks said...

Ahsan H. said...
"A country that has acute power shortage does not need turbines with operational issues".

I would re phrase it. " A country that has acute power shortages cannot afford to have incompetent engineers maintaining and running sophisticated turbines". They must hire best brains. Knowing Pakistan, they might have recruited the relatives of powerful politicians as engineers.

Riaz Haq said...

19640909rk : "Knowing Pakistan, they might have recruited the relatives of powerful politicians as engineers"


Please read the post again. It's the manufacturer's problems with rolling out its new technology, not a maintenance issue.

The Bouchain plant in France using the same GE turbines has had 26 forced outages in the 15 months ending November, according to data published by operator Electricite de France (EDF).

JPMorgan analyst Stephen Tusa has warned GE's Pakistan problems could affect other plants around the world, where GE has already "sold" 30 units

RA said...

So how much bribes did they take from GE to buy untried turbines?

Anonymous said...

An interesting sidelight of the energy situation is the fact that till around 1990, industrial power consumption exceeded domestic power consumption; henceforth, the situation has reversed. For the last two-and-a-half decades, domestic power consumption has been rising faster than industrial power consumption. This reflects the basic feature of the economy – consumption rather than production.

Riaz Haq said...

Anon: " domestic power consumption has been rising faster than industrial power consumption."

Here's the electricity consumption share of various sectors as reported in economic survey of Pakistan 2016-17:


Domestic 50% up from 46% in prior year

Commercial Industrial 8% up from 7%

Agriculture 10% up from 9%

Industrial 26% down from 27%

Misc 6% down from 11%

http://finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_17/14-Energy.pdf

Domestic consumption reflects rising middle class and rising standards of living of even the poorest 20% in the country

http://www.riazhaq.com/2017/12/rising-share-of-income-for-poorest-20.html

Z Basha Jr said...

Americans taking us for a ride again.. Are there any Chinese proven technology we can use?

Riaz Haq said...

Pakistan's PM says confident GE will fix 'technical' issues with gas turbines
Drazen Jorgic, Kay Johnson

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-primeminister-ge/pakistans-pm-says-confident-ge-will-fix-technical-issues-with-gas-turbines-idUSKBN1FB2N2

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Monday that some of General Electric’s flagship new gas turbines in Pakistan were still suffering from technical issues such as “vibration” but he was confident the American company will fix the problems.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Islamabad, Pakistan January 22, 2018. REUTERS/Caren Firouz
The 9HA-class gas turbines are GE power division’s newest and most prestigious product but last year a series of delays and outages interrupted their installation in three power stations vital to Pakistan’s efforts to end electricity shortfalls.

GE (GE.N) has described last year’s problems as “teething” issues, but the troubles have frustrated Pakistani officials and concerned analysts.

GE, undergoing a restructuring, saw its share price tumble below $16 on Monday for the first time since 2011.

Former petroleum minister Abbasi told Reuters it was normal for problems to arise in large projects with new technology but he had faith in GE to fix the problems.

“There have been technical issues. GE is working to resolve them, and there are issues that remain today. Some have been solved, some are still there. Those will get resolved,” Abbasi told Reuters in an interview in the prime minister’s chamber in Pakistan’s Parliament in the capital Islamabad.

“I’m very confident that these will be very robust plants that will be a flagship for both GE and Pakistan.”

The Pakistani power plants are being upgraded to operate at 1,200 MW combined cycle, having worked in simple cycle mode - delivering around 800 MW per power plant - for much of 2017.

Abbasi did not elaborate on how many of the six turbines operating in three 1,200 MW power plants were suffering installation difficulties.

“Some have vibration issues, some have technical issues, GE is working on that,” said Abbasi, who is a trained engineer.

“These (power plants) are still with the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor under GE’s supervision, so we don’t have any liability for them at the moment.”

China’s Harbin Electric International Company and SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Corporation are the contractors building the power stations.

In response to Abbasi’s remarks, a GE spokesperson pointed to a statement the company issued to Reuters in December about last year’s problems.

“Together we’ve encountered and communicated openly about launch challenges and readily resolved issues during this time – it’s important to note that challenges are common with power plants of this size and complexity during the commissioning and early operations phase,” GE said in the statement.

“We remain committed to supporting customer and site needs with the highest standards of quality and excellence,” GE added.

The 9HA-class gas turbines entered the Guinness World Records for efficiency, based on the amount of electricity generated from natural gas at the power plant in Bouchain, France, where it was first put into commercial operation in 2016. Pakistan ordered six turbines in 2015.

GE’s record efficiency of 62.2 percent has since been exceeded by rival manufacturer Mitsubishi Hitachi Power systems.

Riaz Haq said...

Pakistan lowers electricity price by 2.99 rupees per unit
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-25 22:07:15|Editor: Yurou

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/25/c_136924891.htm


ISLAMABAD, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) announced on Thursday to reduce the electricity price by 2.99 rupees (2.7 U.S. cents) per unit under the fuel adjustment for the month of December, 2017.

The decision in this regard was taken in a public hearing, which was conducted under Chairman NEPRA Tariq Saddozai in Islamabad. The hearing was conducted upon request of the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) which requested the NEPRA to cut the power price.

The CPPA informed at the hearing that the generation of electricity during December was recorded at 7.76 billion units, which was produced at 5.11 rupees (4.6 U.S. cents) per unit while its cumulative cost was 40.60 billion rupees (0.37 billion U.S. dollars).

The power distribution companies charged consumers 8.10 rupees (7.3 U.S. cents) per unit during the month under review, it added.

Riaz Haq said...

Haveli Bahadur Shah Power Plant Complete in Pakistan
The project is among the largest gas-fired combined cycle plants in the country
May 10, 2018

http://www.tdworld.com/utility-business/haveli-bahadur-shah-power-plant-complete-pakistan

Pakistan's Haveli Bahadur Shah (HBS) power plant has completed all commissioning activities and has now started combined cycle commercial operations to add up to 1,230 MW of reliable power to the national grid. The project is among the largest gas-fired combined cycle plants in the country, capable of supplying the equivalent power needed to meet the electricity needs of up to 2.5 million Pakistani homes and one of the most efficient combined cycle power plants in the world today.

“The start of combined cycle commercial operations at HBS Power Plant marks a major milestone in the power sector of Pakistan, supporting the government’s goal to enhance access to reliable, affordable power,” said Rashid Mahmood, CEO of National Power Parks Management Co. Ltd (NPPMCL) .

The HBS project was initiated by NPPMCL, which is solely owned by the Government of Pakistan through the Ministry of Water & Power, and was entirely funded through the Public-Sector Development Programme (PSDP). SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Co., Ltd is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project, responsible for setting up the power plant and all commissioning activities. GE has supplied two of its advanced HA heavy-duty gas turbines, one steam turbine and two heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) for the plant, as well as technical advisory services.

Wang Zengxu, SEPCOIII’s Project Director at HBS said, “The Haveli Bahadur Shah Power Plant demonstrates the power of global collaboration with the application of best-in-class technology. We have drawn on a leading combination of exceptional Chinese engineering skills and know-how, together with GE’s record-setting technology for the facility, to build the most efficient combined cycle power plant in the country.”

The Haveli Bahadur Shah Power Plant is about the size of 65 football fields and staff from over 35 countries worked together to complete the project. The project’s execution has been among the fastest globally and three to four months shorter than typical for projects of comparable scale and complexity. Performance tests to date indicate that HBS has set world record levels of efficiency.



Pakistan's Haveli Bahadur Shah (HBS) power plant has completed all commissioning activities and has now started combined cycle commercial operations to add up to 1,230 MW of reliable power to the national grid. The project is among the largest gas-fired combined cycle plants in the country, capable of supplying the equivalent power needed to meet the electricity needs of up to 2.5 million Pakistani homes and one of the most efficient combined cycle power plants in the world today.

“The start of combined cycle commercial operations at HBS Power Plant marks a major milestone in the power sector of Pakistan, supporting the government’s goal to enhance access to reliable, affordable power,” said Rashid Mahmood, CEO of National Power Parks Management Co. Ltd (NPPMCL) .

The HBS project was initiated by NPPMCL, which is solely owned by the Government of Pakistan through the Ministry of Water & Power, and was entirely funded through the Public-Sector Development Programme (PSDP). SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Co., Ltd is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project, responsible for setting up the power plant and all commissioning activities. GE has supplied two of its advanced HA heavy-duty gas turbines, one steam turbine and two heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) for the plant, as well as technical advisory services.