GE completes upgrade at Egyptian power plant

GE said it has completed the modernization of its latest combustion solutions for the 9FA gas turbine at the Kureimat power plant, located in Atfieh, Upper Egypt, and owned by the Upper Egypt Electricity Production Co.(UEEPC).

The upgrade has been implemented on the first of two 9FA gas turbines at the site, increasing the unit’s output from 250 to 270 MW and improving its efficiency by 2.8%, in addition to lowered fuel consumption and reduced operational costs by extending outages intervals, the company said. As a result, UEEPC will be able to recognize approximately US$3.5 million in extra revenues annually.

The Kureimat power plant is a combined-cycle plant that is powered by two 9FA gas turbines, each generating 250 MW, and a steam turbine, with a total output of 750 MW. The upgrade, which includes GE’s Advanced Gas Path (AGP), Advanced Extendors Combustion and Dry Low NOx (DLN) 2.6 XD5, is expected to increase availability and lower maintenance costs due to the extension of maintenance intervals of approximately 32 000 hours; almost four years of operations. This upgrade will help power an additional 75 000 Egyptian households nationwide.

This is the second time this upgrade has been implemented in Egypt, and upgrade of the second unit is expected to be completed by mid-2017. GE has been a partner to Egypt for more than 40 years; today, more than 140 GE gas and steam turbines are installed in the country, generating more than 15.5 GW of power, enough to meet the electricity needs of more than 15 million Egyptian homes, the company said.