Drop will add about $1 million to cost of turbine’s purchase, installation
By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on January 17, 2023.
https://www.medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews A short drop will add about $1 million to the cost of upgrades at the city’s power generation station, councillors heard on Monday. In late 2021, council approved plans to keep a spare major turbine generator in the city in case of breakdown as well as add systems to make future change-outs much faster and easier. Last fall the refurbished “hot section” was delivered back to the to city but was jolted when it was unloaded. That led the warranty provider, General Electric, to request that it be returned for inspection rather than installed in case of potential problems. In that case the warranty would be nullified. The return and adjustments will add about $1 million to the cost of the purchase and installation, now expected to cost a total of $5.25 million. The accident was described to council’s utility and infrastructure committee in mid-December. An incident report details how job-specific rigging has now been acquired to prevent a recurrence. Information at that time also stated that while the equipment was under warranty, the deductible would be $1 million, leaving no advantage by making a claim. The item was removed from the city’s Unit 15 generator at the river valley power station about one year ago and was shipped to and from GE’s refurbishment facility. In 2021, administrators and committee members said the project would allow the city to avoid a longer-than-needed shutdown of generation capacity in case of breakdown. 11-10
