Japanese firms to help revive Srisailam hydel power plant

HYDERABAD: Days after the fire that ravaged the Srisailam power plant in which nine employees were killed, a team of officials from Toshiba arrived at the plant on Wednesday to take stock of the damage caused to the equipment.
They inspected the panel boards, generators and turbines where the fire occurred on the night of August 20. Officials said the Toshiba team will also confabulate with the TSGenco-appointed expert committee headed by TSSPDCL chairman and managing director G Raghuma Reddy and CID chief and additional DGP Govind Singh and guide Genco on revival of the plant. “Japanese firms — Mitsubishi, Hitachi and Melco — had supplied the generators, turbines, panel boards, 400 kv cables and gas insulated sub-station (GIS) material. They had also erected the power station between 2001 and 2003. They have come voluntarily to inspect the accident site and tell us what needs to be done for revival of the plant,” Genco CMD D Prabhakar Rao told TOI on Wednesday.
The officials, during a preliminary investigation, had come to an understanding that the fire broke out in the unit 6 panel board and spread to unit 4, which was gutted completely. They also suspect DC supply failure that ensures tripping of the plant in case of any problem. However, the officials are still clueless as to what might have gone inside the panel board, the report of which is expected to be submitted by a separate committee constituted by the government. In another development, Genco has started laying the 400 kv cables to revive units 1 and 2. There are six units at the plant. “If the two units are revived, it can generate about 300 MW. Rest of the units will take more than six months to revive,” a hydel power official said.