Moolamattom powerhouse to remain shut for a month starting today

THODUPUZHA: The Moolamattom power house will remain completely shut from today until December 10 to repair a leakage in the spherical valves of the generators. The repair work is aimed at fixing the leakage in the Main Intake Valves (MIV) of generators 5 and 6. Officials said that although the shutdown may cause a power shortage, there will be no load shedding.

The leakage first appeared in March due to damage to the seal on the upper part of the valve. Attempts to fix it earlier were unsuccessful. Authorities had planned a one-month shutdown in July for repairs, but could not proceed. The work can only be done after fully halting operations and lifting each valve with a crane. External experts will also be involved in the process.

Annual maintenance
Maintenance work is usually carried out every year from June to December, with one generator repaired each month. Power generation is never fully stopped. The last complete shutdown was in December 2019, when the first generator’s valve was replaced, and the power house was closed for 10 days from December 7 to 17.

Six generators of 130 MW each
The Moolamattom power house, the largest power generation centre in the state, has six generators with a capacity of 130 MW each, totalling 780 MW. Generators 1, 2 and 3 were installed in 1976, and generators 4, 5 and 6 in 1986.