Unit 1 of the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant in Norochcholai, which was reconnected to the national electricity grid last Saturday night (7) after remaining inoperative for nearly three weeks, was shut down again soon after owing to a steam leak in a small pipe, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) said, adding that repairs are scheduled to commence once the pipe cools down.
Speaking to The Morning yesterday (8), CEB Additional General Manager (Generation Division) and Spokesperson Eng. Dhammika Navaratne stated that steam leaks were a common occurrence, while emphasising that it would take about a day for the generator to cool down in order for the necessary repairs to be carried out.
“Unit 1 of the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant resumed operations at around 9:30 p.m. last Saturday. But there was a steam leak in one of the pipes of Unit 1 – I think in a smaller pipe – which is a normal occurrence. The steam leak was noticed just after the machine was synchronised and was loaded to 250 MW. As a result, it was shut down. The leak is a minor issue, but the repairs cannot be carried out while the unit is in operation. We are waiting for the generator to cool down; until then, we cannot carry out repairs. As of now the other two units are in operation.”
Unit 1 of the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant in Norochcholai was shut down on 23 December 2022 in an attempt to manage the depleting stocks of coal, and for routine maintenance. As a result, 270 MW of electricity to the national grid was lost; however, the daily power cuts remained at two hours and 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, of the 60,000 metric tonnes (MT) of coal contained in the sixth shipment to Sri Lanka, 31,830 MT had already been unloaded as of last morning (8), the CEB said. The sixth vessel arrived last Friday (6), while all formalities for the discharging of coal commenced on the same day.
According to Navaratne, unloading of this shipment would most probably conclude by Tuesday (10).
“It was reported that there was bad weather last Saturday night and coal could not be unloaded. It will probably take another three days to unload. However, it may be further delayed if there is bad weather.”
Navaratne also added that the unloading of the seventh shipment carrying 60,000 MT of coal, which also arrived last Saturday, would commence with the conclusion of discharging of the sixth shipment.
Speaking at a media briefing last month, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara noted that seven shipments of coal would be brought down during the month of January.
“We are hoping to get the first shipment of coal by 5 January. We are making efforts to unload the 60,000 MT and provide it to Norochcholai on the same day. We are hoping to bring down seven shipments in January through the previous year’s tender. This hasn’t been done before as only a maximum of six shipments have been brought before.”
According to the CEB, six shipments of coal carrying 60,000 MT each will be sufficient to run all three units of the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant for a period of two months.