Since June 19, the American company General Electric (GE) has stopped servicing gas turbines at Russian thermal power plants with a total capacity of 5 GW and closed access to the monitoring system after the introduction of extended US sanctions. This is reported by Kommersant, citing sources in generating companies.
The material says the company did so “without explanation.” There is no announcement on the termination of activities in the Russian Federation on the General Electric website. According to sources, the company closed access to the monitoring system, which could be used to track the operation of turbines in the Russian Federation.
According to Kommersant, in the future GE may stop the supply of original spare parts, including blades. The replacement of components is important for the most powerful turbines, including the only H-class machine in Russia at Kazanskaya CHPP-3.
The generating company "T Plus" said that the decision was expected. So far, according to the interlocutor, the company is provided with the necessary spare parts, but is considering the possibility of localizing production and services. Inter RAO also announced a possible localization, the company has a joint venture with GE called Russian Gas Turbines.
U.S. sanctions, effective June 18, ban U.S. organizations from providing engineering services to anyone in Russia. Kommersant noted that new sanctions could close the last opportunity for Western power equipment manufacturers to be in Russia. Interlocutors of the publication suggested that
the new restrictions could also completely stop the supply of original spare parts for GE turbines and the French engineering company Alstom (part of GE since 2015).