Maintenance operations ongoing at VINLEC plants

St Vincent Electricity Services Limited (VINLEC) continues to take steps to improve the operations at the company’s generating plants. This, as VINLEC follows through on its routine programme to maintain the generators used to produce electricity.{{more}}

Over the past weeks, technical teams within the Generation Department have been involved in the overhaul of two of the company’s generators. VINLEC’s Generation Department has a mandate to produce a continuous supply of electricity to satisfy the energy needs of consumers in the most cost-effective and efficient manner.

As part of the department’s maintenance programme, a scheduled 6,000 hour overhaul of Lowmans Bay Unit # 3 commenced in August and was recently completed. Overhauls are done to yield optimal performance, to increase an engine’s power output, economy, and durability at specific intervals. During the overhaul of a generator, the engine is dismantled, components checked, repaired, rebuilt and in some instances changed, so that the useful life of the engine is comparable to its useful life when it was new. The unit at Lowmans Bay had routine service inspection and a fuel pump change, among other things. This engine was first put in service in September 2010 and has 34,500 running hours.

Meanwhile, staff from VINLEC’s electrical and mechanical maintenance teams, with assistance from RIMCO, are currently carrying out overhaul work on the Unit # 9 at the Cane Hall Station. The unit is undergoing its third major overhaul. During this exercise, all cylinder heads will be removed from the engine, stripped, cleaned and refurnished and intake and exhaust valves, guides and seats will be replaced. A number of other parts and auxiliaries will also be cleaned, replaced and/or retrofitted. Unit # 9 Cane Hall was installed in 1996.

Following completion of the overhaul, a number of checks will be carried out on the engine to ensure it is functional before being reintegrated into the generating system. Work on this project is scheduled to be completed within the next four weeks.

The engine overhauls are an extremely important component of VINLEC’s maintenance operations, as the process results in improved efficiency, reliability and ultimately improved customer satisfaction. VINLEC recognizes that electricity is a vital part of functioning as a society and works to ensure that customers receive a reliable and quality supply of electricity that ultimately sets the pace for national development.