Rain gods save CEB despite a loss of 300 MWs from N’cholai

By Ifham Nizam

The First Unit of the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant Complex, would commence generation of electricity, next Monday, afrter repairs, engineers said.

The Ceylon Electricity Board yesterday said that since more than 50 per-cent of the electricity was now being generated by hydro power plants, it had been able to manage the Norochcholai problem.

Responding to queries, CEB Spokesperson Andrew Nawamani agreed that the first unit had been stopped for annual routine maintenance, but a few technical problems had delayed the process of completing repairs on schedule.

Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera earlier said that the CEB had commenced repairs and assured that they would restore it on 08 May.

The PUCSL Chairman Janaka Rathanayake told journalists that the Norochcholai Power Plant, would be reconnected to the national grid by the 22 of May.

CEB Spokesperson said sufficient stocks of coal to run the Lak Vijaya Plant at Norochcholai had been imported.

He said that two million metric tonnes of coal had been imported South Africa and Russia.

The coal reserves were sufficient to run the Norochcholai power plants until September this year, the CEB added.

The CEB has to pay USD 60 million to Chinese engineers operating at the first coal fired power plant in Norochcholai, and the amount would further increase with another one-year extension of their contract.

The Island

learns that some 35 Chinese engineers’ contract had cost the CEB more than USD 60 million by 2021.

Plans to extend the Chinese engineers’ contract had run into stiff opposition from a senior official at the Power and Energy Ministry.

Engineers at the plant confirmed that Chinese expertise could not be matched by Sri Lankan engineers.

“Even after the total blackout on 03 Dec., 2021, Chinese experts had to attend to technical problems,” an official said.

The electricity sector regulator, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) earlier instructed the CEB to increase thermal and hydro power generation to meet the shortfall created by the breakdown of the first machine at the Lak Vijaya Power plant complex at Norochcholai.

The PUCSL also issued instructions to maintain the present three hours and 20 minutes daily power cut without any increase.

The 300 MW generator at the Norochcholai first power plant suffered a breakdown on 03 May.