thanks Gregg, great info

fletch

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Penman, Gregg  
Sent:	Monday, July 02, 2001 2:36 PM
To:	Presto, Kevin M.; Sturm, Fletcher J.; Shively, Hunter S.
Cc:	Luce, Laura; Tomaski, Richard
Subject:	Market Info.

Just passing along some information from the Chicago office.  You may already know this, but here is what I have heard.

Peoples Energy/Dominion's Elwood plant is currently being inspected and repaired for cracks in the turbine blades.  The problem was explained to me as a result of a new blade grinding process being performed by a third party which has affected a large batch (potentially 153 units) of GE FA's (150MW's).  The Elwood plant is one of the first units to be inspected and repaired (Dominion had 2 units done prior to Elwood).  The inspection can be done on-site but involves removal and non-destructive testing of each blade (there are 92 blades in this section of the FA) and is subject to availability of replacement blades and trained personnel.  The Elwood plant has taken approximately one week working two twelve hour shifts.  One turbine required replacement of all blades.  GE is currently telling FA customers that they should conduct inspections at the customer's earliest convenience due to problems experienced in testing and through field verifications (Elwood).  They have not suggested any failure rates as a result of this problem.  I am assuming that most customers will choose to postpone inspections depending on the particular offtake structure.  

I will pass along any additional information I hear regarding this situation.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Gregg