Yekibastuz GRES-1: Power Unit Shut Down Cause under Investigation

Kazakhstan's largest coal-fired power plant, Yekibastuz GRES-1, has encountered a technical issue, Orda.kz correspondent reports.

On November 15, at four in the morning, power unit No. 3 was suddenly shut down.

The problem was noticed on November 12. During an inspection, the equipment malfunctioned, and dust began to come out of the dormer windows of pipe No. 1.

The cause of the malfunction is still unknown.

To establish the causes of dusting, it was decided to shut down power unit No. 3 to conduct an internal inspection of the pipe. Specialized organizations will do this. The final causes of dusting will be established based on the results of the inspection. Based on the analysis, a plan of necessary measures will be developed,
 commented the Samruk-Energo press service.

The company did not specify whether the incident affected electricity generation.

The Yekibastuzskaya GRES-1 is a thermal power plant with an installed capacity of 4000 MW.

In August, it completed the restoration of power unit No. 1 after four units failed. The Committee for Atomic and Energy Supervision and Control investigated the malfunction. 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy explained why power unit No. 3 was shut down at four a.m. on November 15.

There was a short-term release of flue gases from the inspection hatches along the shaft of smoke stack No. 1, they wrote.

The Ministry assured that the accident did not affect the electricity and heat supply, as generation at other power plants was increased.

Original Author: Alina Adilova

This article has been updated to reflect the current situation as of 15/11/24 19:53.