GE's Indian arm bags 48-cr contract for repair works

Thiruvananthapuram/Idukki: Alstom India, which has recently been renamed as GE Power India following its acquisition by US giant General Electric, has bagged the Rs 48-crore contract for renovation works at Moolamattom power house in Idukki.
"The company would be entrusted with the repair works of three of the oldest generators in the power house that has a total of six generators.There were signs of distress in functioning of the old set of generators installed way back in 1976. It was decided to carry out the renovation works following the recommendations of the Central Power Research Institute, which carried out a detailed study on the efficiency of the generators and allied systems in the underground power station," said V Venugopal, director of distribution, safety and generation-electrical at Kerala state electricity board (KSEB).
The works, expected to begin by next June, would be formally awarded to the company soon. It would be completed in a span of two to two-and-a-half year. Also, the works cannot be carried out during dry season.
The spherical valves of the three first phase generators would be replaced. Representatives of Chinese company HBHC, which would supply the valves for Rs 6 crore, had visited the hydel power station to take a look at the valves to be replaced.
According to the research institute report, three of the second set of generators installed in 1986 were functioning properly and would not need to undergo any major overhaul for another 10 years.
As per rules, 35-year-old turbines, shafts, bearings, generators and other machines should undergo maintenance.
The powerhouse has a total production capacity of 780 megawatt. Each of the six generators has 160 Megawatt capacity.
Earlier, Canadian company SNC Lavin had installed the generators in the power house.