Boiler woes continue to plague IREA power plant

A coal-fueled power plant in Pueblo partially owned by the Intermountain Rural Electric Association is operating again after ongoing boiler leaks closed it for three weeks in January, said the organization’s general manager.
The leaks at the Comanche 3 plant were caused by “continuing issues with welds in the boilers,” said IREA general manager Patrick Mooney — and this wasn’t the first time.
“There have been literally hundreds of leaks since that plant opened,” Mooney said.
When the plant is down, IREA buys backup power from Xcel Energy, but it’s more expensive than using power from Comanche 3.
Mooney said IREA spent $2 million more than budgeted in January, due in part to buying electricity from Xcel.
 “It definitely cost us money,” Mooney said. “We’re paying for the lost productivity (of Comanche 3).”
IREA didn’t have to pay for repairs to the Comanche 3 plant, since the boiler is still under warranty from French manufacturing company Alstom, Mooney said.
When the Pueblo plant is at full capacity, it theoretically should produce about 45 percent of IREA’s electric needs, said IREA spokesman Bill Schroeder.
But since the plant finished its testing phase and started commercial production in July 2010, it hasn’t consistently hit that mark. In the 19 months since then, the plant has been at 70 percent production or more for less than 10 of them, Mooney said.
The rest of the months have been “a mixed bag, not great,” Mooney said.
The plant was closed from September through November 2011 for maintenance. It was expected to be closed for two months but was closed for three months because of additional boiler problems.