Thermal power plants low on fuel; official power cuts likely

By Ifham Nizam

A stock of kess than 3.5 million litres of fuel is available at the Kelanitissa Power Plant Complex, and it is sufficient only for two days, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) engineers warn.

“The situation is very critical; bigger plants cannot be operated with low fuel intake,” a senior engineer told The Island yesterday, adding that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) had not given any undertaking that it would supply fuel to the CEB.

On Thursday, power plants, both private and state-owned, at the Kelanitissa complex, had to be shut down due to nonavailability of Diesel and Naphtha, causing power outages in several parts of the country.

A senior electrical engineer said the CEB had ordered 10 million litres of fuel last Wednesday and another 15 million the following day. Five ships had reached Colombo, carrying fuel, but the shipments could not be cleared for want of foreign exchange.

With the 25,000 litres of fuel, the Plant Complex could go on for 20 more days, he added.

The CEB has recommended to the Ministry of Power to impose scheduled power cuts for two and half hours daily. Minister of Power Gamini Lokuge said that engineers had not informed him of load shedding. However, CEB Engineers Union (CEBEU) President Saumya Kumarawadu said there was the possibility of power cuts.

He said that one-hour power cuts will be enforced between 11 am and 6 pm and two 45-minute power cuts during the peak hours of 6 pm to 9 pm.

The 150MW Sapugaskanda plant and the 60MW Colombo Port Barge have been closed for want of fuel.

The national grid has lost 300 MW of power from the third unit of the Norochcholai Power Plant which has remained closed for maintenance work for one month. Similarly, a part of the Yugadanavi at Kerawalapitiya 300MW Power Plant has not been operational since last month as a result of scheduled maintenance. It supplies 150MW to the national grid.