News from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China is that General Electric's PG9171E gas turbine generator imported to China has once again encountered operational failures and this has caused big damages to the generator.

In May, the gas turbine of the PG9171E generator imported by Shenzhen Baochang Power Company reportedly encountered a major failure during operation. GE later repaired all the gas turbines for Baochang, but the reason for the failure is still under investigation.

China imported a total of 24 sets of this type of generator between 2003 and 2005. After rounds of negotiation between AQSIQ and GE, the latter finally admitted that there was some deficiency in the design of their products and agreed to maintain all the 24 generators, free of charge. At the same time, AQSIQ announced plans to ban the import of future generators at the Shenzhen Railway Station Customs and Frontier Inspection.

There is no word yet from GE or in local media reports of whether these GE components will be used in the future or will be replaced.