ENERGY company SembCorp has announced a £10m overhaul at its Teesside power station.

About 650 contractors will work on the number six boiler, at the Wilton Power Station. Work is expected to take four months to complete.

It will be the second major overhaul at the station - owned by SembCorp Utilities UK - in two years. Work on the station's sister boiler was completed in March.

About 1,000 tasks need to be undertaken on the boiler - taking about 250,000 man-hours - and SembCorp has again chosen Darlington company AMEC as its main overhaul contractor.

Paul Rainbow, SembCorp's overhaul manager, said: "It's another major step forward for our business. This work will enhance the environmental and operational efficiency of the power station, but most importantly, as with the previous overhaul, we're hoping it will be carried out safely."

Preparation work has taken more than 18 months and detailed planning with AMEC has ensured that all safety, health and environmental assessments are in place before the work starts.

Aidan Patton, AMEC's event manager, said: "We carry out a lot of shutdown work for customers in this area and are generally regarded by the industry as the 'best in class' when it comes to this type of activity."

Wilton Power Station, at the Wilton International site, provides steam and electricity to many chemical manufacturers including Sabic, Huntsman, Dow, Artenius UK and INVISTA.

Like its sister boiler, number six is capable of using coal and oil as a fuel. The overhaul work will add to the station's fuel flexibility by giving it the ability to generate electricity from cleaner natural gas.

The installation of 12 "low NOx" coal burners in the boiler, at a cost of £4m, will also reduce greenhouse gases such as nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide at the plant and new blades in a turbine will ensure it generates electricity more efficiently.