Fearing a massive explosion after the detection of fuel in the exhaust of a generator, the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) yesterday shut down its Garden of Eden power plant.
With the shutdown resulting in the loss of 46.5MWs, load shedding was underway last night with disruption in the power supplied to residents on the East Bank of Demerara, the West Coast of Demerara and the East Bank of Essequibo.
GPL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bharat Dindyal yesterday stressed that the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution.”
“We changed the oil of the third generator and were preparing to bring it up online but they began to see carbon coming out the turbo charger and that is not something that is normal. What we suspect is that fuel might actually get into the exhaust system and so out of an abundance of caution – if you are getting fuel in the exhaust, which is extremely hot, about 600°C that can be a major explosion – we are shutting down the plant,” Dindyal said in brief comments to the media.
The CEO explained that about a month ago the company’s technicians and engineers at the facility noticed the elevated temperatures on all of the generators, causing them to suspect something was amiss. He stated that the temperatures were about 2°C above normal.
Having consulted with engineers of the Finnish manufacturer, Wärtsilä, Dindyal said, GPL made a decision to send samples of the lube oil for analysis in Houston, Texas. He stated that the results of the analysis, which returned on Thurs-day, showed that viscosity more than doubled and additives to neutralize acid in the lube oil was depleted by 50 to 60%.
Based on technical advice received, he said, they had to take immediate action to prevent damage and change out the poor quality lube oil used. The CEO explained that they had successfully completed oil changes in the first and second generators and were in the process of completing the oil change in the third when they detected the carbon in the turbo charger.
The detection, he emphasized, led to the complete shutdown of the facility, thereby removing its generated power from the national grid.
Dindyal went on to say that technicians and engineers form both GPL and Wärtsilä will be conducting root-cause analysis. He stated that two additional engineers from Wärtsilä will be in the country today to assist in diagnosis and remedying the situation.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Phillips who has responsibility for the energy sector, was also briefed on the situation during a visit to the facility yesterday.
“I want the people of Guyana to understand that this is from a safety precaution and is necessary that we shut down these plants to do some further checks,” he stated at the end of his tour of the facility.
He noted that there will be load shedding in different parts of the country as a result of the situation but stressed the need for safety and to protect the plant, which was set up at a cost of over US$50M.
“We will go through and once satisfied [and given clearance] we will bring back [this generation] on stream [in] couple days or weeks,” he said.
The nature of the issue will determine how soon the plant can go back into power generation.
Additionally, GPL in an advisory last night stated that the unavailability of 46.5 MWs will impact the available generation capacity within the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) and result in load shedding in some areas.
“Our Engineers will continue to review the Company’s available generation capacity against the projected demand over the coming days to determine whether further load shedding will be required. Our company will continue to keep the public informed,” the company said in a Facebook notice.
Affected areas identified by the company as of last night were:
EAST BANK DEMERARA – Garden of Eden to Timehri – 18:00 to 22:00 hrs
WEST COAST DEMERARA – Leo-nora to De Kinderen – 18:00 to 22:00 hrs
EAST BANK ESSEQUIBO – Boerasirie to Naamryck – 18:00 to 22:00 hrs
The generating system at the plant, which is still to be commissioned, began supplying the national grid in November last year after completion of a testing phase. Neither GPL nor government is expected to fund any cost for rehabilitative works since there is an active warranty.
The project has faced several delays due to inclement weather conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In November 2020, the power company had received five generators from Finland. The five Wärtsilä generators can each generate 9.3 MW of power.
In October last year, Ryan Ross, Divi-sional Director of Engineering Services, had explained that the power plant will be a dual-fuel power generator. He stated that with the expectation of Guyana tapping into natural gas from offshore petroleum operations, the power plant is built to work with both heavy fuel oil and natural gas.
The old power generating plant had been costing GPL a large sum of money to maintain and Ross noted that with the generators being old, they are no longer efficient and finding spare parts can be difficult at times. The power plant was constructed in the 1970s and is equipped with engines that are over 26 years old. Ross had said that GPL does not plan on abandoning the old power plant when the new one comes on stream as they will need all the electricity generated for the national grid.
While Wärtsilä had previously managed generators that it had sold to Guyana, this task is now being handled by a local company, Power Producers and Distribution Inc.
