The process to overhaul the main source of power for the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities has started.

On Monday and Tuesday, the LM6000 gas turbine was prepared to be shipped to Alberta, Canada. Steve Kulig, BPU power plant manager, said a 60-ton crane moved the 18,000-pound LM6000 into a container to be transported to Trans Canada Turbines. Kulig said it would take three days to transport the gas turbine to Canada.

In January, BPU officials approved the overhaul work, which is required to be done every 2,500 hours of operation. The BPU received three bids from approved General Electric – the manufacturer of the LM6000 – contractors. The bid accepted for $2,354,000 was from Trans Canada Turbines.

Kulig will be traveling to Trans Canada Turbines’ facility later this month to view first-hand a portion of the overhaul. He said he wants to be there to look at the pieces to determine if the components of the LM6000 just need to be repaired or replaced.

”I’ll be there when the pieces come out,” he said. ”I cannot do that over the phone. I need to be there to get my hands on it.”

The last overhaul was done in 2005 when bearings needed to be replaced in the gas turbine. The BPU has had the LM6000 since 2001 and just hit 2,500 hours for the first time. However, with less coal-burning being done by the city-owned utility now, it is being estimated the LM6000 will rack up 5,000 hours a year.

This is a good time for the LM6000 to be overhauled, Kulig said. Usually in April, the BPU will shut down the gas turbine for in-house maintenance because this is one of the slower months for electric generation. Kulig said the LM6000 will be back by the end of May and ready to handle a higher amount of electric generation caused by warmer weather leading people to run their air conditioners. Even without the main power source, the BPU would still be able to generate electric with the coal boiler renovated to burn natural gas.