Ageing Tuticorin thermal power station (TTPS) units regularly suffer snags

One of the largest state-owned thermal power plants, three of its units were established in 1977, thus crossing the maximum average lifetime of 30 years of a thermal power unit.

The fourth and fifth units are in their silver jubilee year.

This has resulted in frequent breakdowns, said a maintenance engineer at TTPS. “Technical snags reported in almost every other week has severely hit power generation at TTPS,” he added. Moreover, BHEL has stopped producing components for the thermal power station, this being another reason behind the frequent breakdowns, not only at TTPS, but in several other state and Central thermal power stations in Tamil Nadu.

“Though we have many private component producers now, the products supplied are not up to the mark,” said the maintenance engineer, who complained that private contractors who win the bids for component supply generally supply products of companies that give sales commissions.

The third unit of the Tuticorin thermal power station that was overhauled for about '6 crore, shutting down the unit for two months till January this year, again broke down on the night of August 1.

With the third unit breaking down since Friday night, when the first unit of TTPS is under maintenance and shut down for 20 days, power produced at the 5x210 MW thermal power station stood at 630 MW on Saturday.