GE - Northland Power
GE re-ups gas turbine maintenance agreements on six Canadian units
3/12/2001 GE Aeroderivative and Package Services (GEAPS) has extended two long-term service agreements with Northland Power for the major gas turbine maintenance on six GE units at three power plants. Northland Power is an independent power producer (IPP) headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
The seven-year agreements extend contracts Northland Power signed with GE in 1995 and 1996. “Northland estimates that it has reduced the risk associated with its major gas turbine maintenance projections with the GE maintenance agreements,” said David Dougall, General Manager, Operations of Northland Power. “The GE contracts have proved to be an excellent risk avoidance strategy, and provided scheduled maintenance flexibility,” Dougall added.
Major gas turbine maintenance is provided on site by GEAPS’ field technicians; repair/ overhaul services are handled at GEAPS’ Houston, Texas and Miami, Fla. depots. The agreements cover the three plants located at:
Iroquois Falls Power Corp: Two LM6000 gas turbines operate at this 110-megawatt combined cycle cogeneration plant. The facility generates an average of 85 megawatts of electricity, which is sold to Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation (OEFC) under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA). OEFC is a new entity created subsequent to initiation of deregulation and the breakup of Ontario Hydro. Approximately 300,000 pounds per hour of steam is sold to the nearby Abitibi Consolidated Inc. paper mill, the largest steam host for an IPP in Canada. The plant began commercial operation in September 1996.
Cochrane Power Corp: An LM2500 STIG (STeam Injected Gas) turbine system coupled with a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), a 15-megawatt steam turbine and a 120,000-pounds per hour wood boiler operate at this combined-cycle facility. The 42-megawatts produced are also sold to OEFC under a long-term PPA. The plant began commercial operation in 1990 and it continues to exceed Northland’s original expectations for capacity and availability.
Kirkland Lake Power Corp: This 102-megawatt facility features a unique wood-fired/gas turbine combined cycle configuration. Electricity is sold to OEFC under a long-term PPA. The plant comprises three wood-fired boilers, three GE LM2500 gas turbines each coupled to an HRSG, a 20-megawatt steam turbine, and a 25-megawatt steam turbine. It began commercial operation in late 1991.
Benefits
Northland has experienced numerous benefits with the GE maintenance agreements including:
Owner costs are controlled
Availability of gas turbines is maximized
Internal resources are leveraged
Risks are avoided
Gas turbines remain insurable
Positive relationship with service contractor is fostered
Before the maintenance agreements, Northland’s management, financial and technical personnel were consumed with individual repair business case analysis and overall major maintenance strategy development. With the maintenance agreements, Northland can once again focus on the core business of developing, building and operating power plants.
“Without these agreements, maintenance costs could have lead to an adversarial relationship with overhaul facilities and ultimately frustration with the technology employed. Instead Northland’s trust in GEAPS and its products continue to grow,” Dougall stated.
GE Power Systems (http://www.gepower.com) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation technology, energy services and management systems with 2000 revenues of $15 billion. The business has the largest installed base of power generation equipment in the global energy industry. GE Power Systems provides turnkey equipment, service and management solutions across the power generation, oil and gas, distributed power and energy rental industries. |
