No power backup for Texas Refineries during repair of transmission lines

TNMP spokeswoman, Cathy Garber, in a telephonic interview, said that the Texas refineries will not have access to the backup supply because Texas New Mexico Power Co. workers will clean dust and residue from the insulators and they will also coat them with a sealant. The whole process will take about two to three weeks.

Texas refineries have a crude processing capacity of around 800,000 barrels a day. The refineries of Texas were closed partially after the power failure which happened on April 25 and during the early part of the next day. The power failure made the gasoline price rose to a 33 month high in New York.

Garber said, “We will have redundancy restored by this weekend for facilities that have experienced issues.”

In an Email, spokeswoman for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Dottie Roark, said that one of the Texas New Mexico Power Co.’s transmission lines, Amoco Comanche which is serving industrial customers of the area is not operating.

A person with knowledge of the plant’s operations said that BP Plc (BP/) is looking to start its Texas City refinery which has a capacity of 475,000 barrel a day but need the transmission lines to return to service so that the external power can serve as a reliable back up source.

In an Email, spokesman Bill Day said that Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) is also planning to start its unit which has a capacity of 245,000 barrel a day.

He said in a statement, “A reliable supply of electricity is necessary before our refinery, or any refinery, can fully restart.”

According to Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO)’s spokesman, there Texas City refinery is coming to normal operations after they have resumed their units.