KARACHI, July 5: Hub Power Company Limited (Hubco) announced on Monday that the Unit No 4 was expected to return to service in the last week of September 2004.

The corporate announcement made by the company at the Karachi Stock Exchange recalled that Hubco had earlier announced on May 18 that the Unit No 4 was expected to return to service during the second half of August 2004.

"We have been advised by our O&M Operator and the Original Equipment Manufacturer, who are carrying out the repair work, that the repair programme has been further delayed and consequently the Unit is expected to return to service in the last week of September 2004", Hubco stated.

The company explained that the delay was due to extended production schedule of specific machine components that were not normally kept in stock at the company's site, the manufacturer's inventory or at similar power plants globally.

"The machine will go through normal pre-commissioning testing and dynamic balancing before return to service," Hubco said, adding that the company was striving to bring the Unit back to service an earlier date.

The company reaffirmed that its remaining three Units each of 300 megawatts, a total of 900 megawatts, were fully available for dispatch by Wapda. "As advised earlier, this fault and the consequence of delay continue to be covered under Company's insurance," said Hubco, as a word of reassurance.