Garland, Texas - While West Coast consumers are being confronted with rolling blackouts and sky rocketing prices due to a shortages of electrical energy. Garland Power & Light is taking steps to assure its customer-owners will enjoy abundant energy in the immediate future.

GP&L is in the process of installing an additional generator capable of providing 75,000 kilowatts of electricity. The 75-megawatt generator, weighing 440,000 pounds, arrived from Austria the last of July and was transported to the Olinger power plant for installation in late November.

Dave Breedlove, Manager of Production, explained that the generator was manufactured by General Electric in Austria and shipped by boat to the Port of Houston. It was carried by Burlington Northern Railroad to Fort Worth then by Kansas City Southern railroad to Greenville, where it was hoisted by two huge cranes and placed on a special truck for transport to Ray Olinger. The truck and trailer measured 115 feet long, 12 feet wide and 15 feet high. The 25-mile trip from Greenville to the Ray Olinger power plant took more than 2 1/2 hours.

Breedlove said the generator and its accompanying turbine, scheduled for delivery in September, make up GP&L's 75-megawatt combustion unit, which will be operational by spring of 2001. General Electric is shipping the turbine from their South Carolina facility.

"We are working on the foundation for the generator, which should be ready by October 1," Breedlove pointed out. "The turbine, which weighs 403,000 pounds, is due to arrive at the Greenville rail yard in September, will complete the installation."

The new generator and turbine, which cost $19.9 million, provide GP&L with its first combustion turbine equipment. While GP&L's current facilities utilize natural gas to produce steam to power its turbines, the new generator uses natural gas, this configuration can develop a full load in 30 minutes as opposed to the four hours required for the steam process.

Breedlove stressed, "The advantage of having a gas turbine as opposed to our steam process is extremely important since it enables us to reach full power in 30 minutes. That can be vital at critical times like the 100-plus weather situations".

"One of the main functions," Breedlove said, "is to operate this unit to met peak load conditions around 3 or 4 o'clock during this extremely hot weather. In addition it gives GP&L energy to accommodate the future growth of Garland while providing for the sale of electrical power on the wholesale market."

Since the 1995 deregulation of the wholesale energy market, GP&L has enjoyed brisk sales in the wholesale energy market. Breedlove said this new equipment will enable the city to generate more off system business.