04/08 13:28 REPEAT-Florida issues power alert after plant blast

(refiling) By Heather McCulloch

NEW YORK, April 8 (Reuters) - Florida issued a "power alert" following a deadly explosion early Thursday at TECO Energy's power plant near Tampa, Fla.

The blast, which killed one worker and injured 45, shut all six generating units at the coal-fired Gannon power plant, which produces a total of 1,270 megawatts (MW), or roughly enough electricity to power a city of half a million people.

The Florida Reliability Coordinating Council (FRCC) issued the alert "due to Tampa Electric Company issuing public appeals for conservation due to the explosion at the Gannon Plant."

Florida issued its first such alert of the year on Tuesday when temperatures shot up to near 90 degrees Fahrenheit (35 C) while several of the state's power plants were shut for spring maintenance.

TECO, the parent company of Tampa Electric Co., said it did not know when the damaged plant would be back in operation.

Spot electricity prices in Florida and in the Southeast were unshaken by the blast, however.

"There are a lot of rumors out there for $100 (per megawatt hour) power, but we're not buying that, and I don't know who is. We could see that for an hour or two this afternoon, but not right now," one Florida-based power trader said.

He said in-state prices for electricity delivered over the next hour were currently running around $30 per MWh, while power scheduled for delivery Friday at the Georgia/Florida border during the 16-hour "peak" daytime schedule was quoted at $35.00 per MWh, compared with $30.00-32.00 per MWh a day ago.

Another Florida trader said deals for hourly power in Florida were reported done as high as $35.00.

He also said that there were hefty offers of $75 and $100 surfacing north of Florida but could not confirm any deals were done at those levels.

When the Gannon station resumes service is a major question facing Florida utilities. A lengthy outage into the hot summer months, when electricity demand for air conditioning reaches its peak, could strain the Florida power grid.

It could also force local utilities to import electricity from out of state, resulting in higher costs that, in turn, would likely be passed down to consumers.

Preliminary reports indicate TECO's blast was caused by a hydrogen leak at a generator that was shut for testing.

Though the TECO plant explosion apparently hit only one unit, all six of the facility's generating units were shut following the mishap.

The fire was brought under control within about 15 minutes of the explosion, rescue workers said.

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Ray

-- Anonymous, April 08, 1999