Techincal problems continue to dog Neyveli lignite unit

Chennai, April 10 (IANS) Mining-cum-power generation company Neyveli Lignite Corporation's 250 MW plant in Neyveli in Tamil Nadu has been down for the past 10 days owing to mechanical and refractory problems, a senior official of equipment vendor Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) said.

"The boiler was shut down around 10 days back due to some mechanical problem and issues with its refractory. The matter is being looked into so that the power could be generated at the earliest," A.V. Krishnan, executive director, BHEL said.

NLC officials said the refractory of the circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) boiler was damaged and was being repaired.

BHEL had supplied four CFBC boilers to NLC. While the two 250 MW units are located near the pit head at Neyveli in Tamil Nadu, the other two units (2x125 MW) are in Rajasthan.

Both the Neyveli and Rajasthan CFBC projects had run into technical problems delaying their commissioning. The NLC was upset for the two year delay in commissioning of the two units at Neyveli.