RACHEL RAVINA/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Berlin’s Electric Utility is working to replace an engine following a malfunction last month at the power plant on 309 William Street. Director Tim Lawrence said a new generator should be opera- tional by June 1, 2020.

By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer

(Aug. 22, 2019) When one of Berlin’s four electrical power generators went down on July 17, it was the result of a “major failure,” Electric Utility Director Tim Lawrence told the Town Council last Monday evening.

Lawrence said a piston connecting rod failed on the 16-cylinder engine at the William Street plant and “and knocked a hole in the side plate of the engine.”

He said the 20-year-old engine couldn’t be repaired and would need to be replaced, with a new engine costing anywhere from $700,000 to $1.6 million.

“It’s just like anything else,” Lawrence said. “The more miles, the more hours you put on it with the engine, the more things start to happen with it go wrong.”

Moreover, Lawrence said that the failure happened during a time when the department was running peak shaving times. The engine typically runs from about 2-6 p.m., but because of high temperatures, the engine was working overtime.

“During that week, we’d actually ran eight days straight in a row,” Lawrence said.

The department conducts peak shaving events when the “draw for electricity for the town is very, very high,” which typically occurs about 10 to 23 times during the summer.

Peak-shaving is a way for town ratepayers to save money because by using the local generators, the electric utility has to purchase less power from providers, according to Lawrence.

“By us peak shaving, it normally saves the town ratepayers, electric rate payers about $550,000 per year,” he said. “That’s how much money it saves.”

In the meantime, Lawrence said insurance agents have been at the plant to assess the damage.

He said the process to replace an engine takes about eight or nine months. He expects it to be completed by June 1, 2020.