OREANDA-NEWS. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has achieved yet another landmark in its After-Market-Service business by successfully renovating, modernizing and uprating 110 MW Unit-4 at Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) at Bathinda. After successfully running for over 33 years, this unit, originally supplied and commissioned by BHEL, was undertaken for Renovation & Modernization (R&M).

Following the R&M, not only was the working life of the machine extended by another 15-20 years, the capacity was also uprated to 120 MW from its original capacity of 110 MW. The unit has achieved the uprated capacity of 120 MW on July 23, 2014.

Unit-3 at the power plant is already in successful operation since 2012 after R&M and is generating 120 MW against its original rated capacity of 110 MW. The unit has also been installed with modified Electrostatic Precipitators (ESP) and is now meeting the latest emission norms. Following the R&M of the unit, the residents of the city of Bathinda, especially those living in the vicinity of the power station have much cleaner air to breathe in.

BHEL has once again showcased its inherent strength of being fully geared for execution of R&M and Uprating of old thermal power plants through in-house state-of-the-art technology, engineering capabilities and by offering the latest products.

The synchronization of the unit comes close on the heels of the recent successful commissioning of Obra Unit-9 of UPRVUNL, which was uprated from 200 MW to 216 MW, and Muzaffarpur Unit-1 of Kanti Bijlee (KBUNL).

With this BHEL has executed R&M of 4 sets of 120 MW and Uprating of 7 sets of 110 MW. By executing R&M and uprating of Obra Unit-9, BHEL has successfully entered into the 200/210 MW segment also. Presently, R&M of 5 sets of 110 MW are in various stages of execution. Recently, BHEL has been awarded the Energy Efficient (EE) R&M for 1x210 MW Unit-6 at Koradi TPS in Maharashtra.

In order to bridge the gap between demand and supply, especially in the context of limited financial resources available and difficulty in land acquisition and environment clearance, it has become imperative for the country to look for other options for cheaper and faster power capacity enhancement. In this regard, optimum utilization of existing capacity in the country to maximize the generation through Renovation & Modernization (R&M) and Life Extension (LE) of existing power plants is considered to be the most cost effective option.

Of the more than 150 sets of 200/ 210 MW rating in operation in the country, about 70 have outlived their designed economic life of 25 years. Power utilities would find this an opportunity for capacity up-rating and Life Extension, which would not only improve their performance level in terms of improving efficiency and reducing emissions but also extend their useful life span by another 2 decades.