General Electric’s flagship gas turbines ran into problems in Pakistan last year, leading to delays and lengthy outages at three newly built power stations, according to several senior Pakistani officials and power executives.
GE has said they were teething problems. But the questions over one of its most important products suggest another setback for the company in a year in which its shares have plunged and third-quarter results were called “horrible” by new Chief Executive John Flannery. GE is now undergoing major restructuring.
There is no evidence that GE’s 9HA-Class turbines have fundamental design flaws.
But so far the Pakistani plants, which began running last year, are producing power at levels well below their capacity and the problem was acute in the crucial summer months, when temperatures in the country frequently exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104°F).
Data from Pakistan’s Central Power Purchasing Agency, seen by Reuters, showed the Bhikki, Haveli and Balloki plants jointly generated only a half of their current maximum capacity in August.
A month later all three plants showed improved output but remained well below capacity. Reuters was unable to review more recent data.
“It had terrible consequences because we lost a lot of power which would have come to the grid during the peak summer,” Yousaf Naseem Khokhar, the top civil servant in the Energy Ministry’s power division, told Reuters.
“It is now up to General Electric to rise to the challenge and to take care of these issues... before next summer starts,” he said.
In a statement, GE said “every commercial HA site today is demonstrating exceptional performance levels for both output and efficiency”.
On the issues in Pakistan, GE said: “We’ve encountered and communicated openly about launch challenges and readily resolved issues during this time. It’s important to note that challenges are common with power plants of this size and complexity during the commissioning and early operations phase.”
GE also said in a separate statement that the three plants are expected to deliver enough power to supply the equivalent of 7.3 million Pakistani homes over their 30-plus-year life cycle, and that will make a “meaningful difference in the everyday lives of the people of Pakistan.”
Due to its large and fast-growing population and economy and well developed gas infrastructure, Pakistan is seen as a key growth market for power turbine makers, with all major turbine makers actively looking for business.
“Pakistan is seen as one of the fastest growing markets... and there has been a plethora of contracting activity from Pakistan over the last couple years,” said Saul Kavonic of energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie. Pakistan still needed “additional investment in energy infrastructure,” he added.— Reuters
Drazen Jorgic & Henning Gloystein
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