Lawsuit filed over Sherco 3 turbine failure

( Minneapolis  )    A lawsuit has been filed against General Electric stemming from one of the most extensive and expensive electric utility-related outages

in Minnesota history. It happened in November 2011 at the Sherco 3 electric generator site in central Minnesota during the restart of a large generator after a rehabilitation project. Xcel Energy is the primary owner of the site and says an investigation determined the catastrophic damage that ensued was caused by a defect in the turbine blades. In its lawsuit, Xcel says General Electric and its affiliates knew about the defect for decades and had documented earlier failures and improved its design, but never said anything about the problem. Xcel says the 22 months of repairs that followed cost it more than $200 million. Rochester-based Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency is a co-owner of the site and is a plaintiff in the suit. SMMPA ( sempa ) is a power wholesaler and Rochester is its largest member. The lawsuit seeks reimbursement for the cost of repairs, acquisition of power during the two years the generator was offline and the loss of sales during the same time period.

- Associated Press, KROC News