Algoma Steel halts furnace after turbine outage at Lake Superior Power

What happened

Algoma Steel Group, based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, reported an unplanned outage at its Lake Superior Power generating facility. One turbine unit detected an abnormal condition and went offline. The company said the remaining units were unaffected. Because the plant supplies electricity to Algoma's steelmaking operations, the company suspended production at its electric arc furnace, while downstream finishing and shipping continued. Technical teams and external specialists were assessing the turbine, which the company described as damaged, and scheduled maintenance was brought forward to reduce future downtime.

Algoma said it was working with GE Vernova to mobilise a contracted spare turbine, which it expected would restore normal power plant operations. It was also in discussions with the Independent Electricity System Operator about alternative onsite power, aiming to restart the furnace within 10 to 21 days. It expected limited impact on current customer deliveries, although future shipment volumes may be affected. The date of the outage was not stated.

Contributing factors

The cause of the abnormal condition detected by the turbine unit was not reported.

Lessons learned

1. A trip on one unit at a captive generating plant can stop an industrial process even when other units remain available.
2. Spare generating equipment and alternative onsite power are more useful if the arrangements are already in place before a unit goes offline.
3. An abnormal condition that takes a turbine offline should be understood before the unit returns, because the company itself treated the unit as damaged.

More lessons on investigation and fleet-wide checks, maintenance, inspection and ageing assets, from every incident on the register.

Source

theglobeandmail.com