Penstock painting will cost $200,000

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 7, Issue 346, 31 July 1990, Page 7

Penstock painting will cost $200,000

Kuratau power station will be out of commission for most of February following a decision by the King Country Electric Power Board to repaint the inside of the penstocks. Repainting the inside will cost about $180,000 while external painting will add an-

other $21,000 to the bill. Chief engineer Colin Martin told , the July board meeting the cost included the loss of generation revenue while the power station is out of action. Repainting the penstocks will improve the efficiency, however, and

the board expects to recover the total cost of the job over five years. Mr Martin said consultants Tonkin and Taylor had confirmed his view that the paintwork had reached the end of its economic life and that continual patching was not really an option.

"The metal underneath is in good condition. Delaying the repainting will result in rust eating into the metal, making future painting more difficult and expensive. General manager Peter Till told board members that a hole will have to be knocked into the

bottom of the penstocks to extract the muck left after sandblasting. The external painting is only on the top half of the penstocks, due to weathering - the bottom side paint has an estimated 8-10 years life left.