Engineers attached to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) have raised concerns over the operational stability of the Norochcholai Power Plant, warning that the plant may face another shutdown if all three generators are pushed to maximum capacity, especially given the current instability of the national grid.

While the CEB has assured that the plant is functioning sufficiently with two generators operational and the third on standby, engineers caution that running the plant 24/7 with full load could lead to a potential breakdown.

This follows a recent shutdown caused by an overload due to excessive solar energy supply, which triggered the plant’s safety system last Sunday (9). The shutdown resulted in a four-day delay for the plant’s protection valve reset process, causing an islandwide power outage.

When contacted by The Sunday Morning, CEB Spokesman Dhammike Wimalaratne said that two of the plant’s generators were currently connected to the national grid, with the third generator set to be reconnected as power demand rises.

Nevertheless, engineers remain concerned about the system’s current instability and the risk of another shutdown if all generators are required to operate simultaneously.

The Norochcholai Power Plant, also known as the Lakvijaya Power Plant, is a critical part of Sri Lanka’s energy infrastructure, contributing at least 900 MW of electricity to the national grid.

Despite recent power cuts and ongoing challenges, the CEB has announced that with the successful reconnection of the third generator by Friday (14), daily power cuts will be discontinued.