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Norochcholai Unit Three to resume today?

31 Jan 2022

 
  • CEB hopeful of unit’s resumption following near two-month breakdown
  • Discussions on LIOC providing fuel to CEB underway
  BY Pamodi Waravita The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is hoping Unit Three of the coal-fired thermal power plant Lakvijaya Power Station in Norochcholai will be added to the national power grid today (31), following its repairs since the first week of December 2021, The Morning learns. “Norochcholai will be restarted on Sunday night and we hope that by Monday, it will be added to the national grid. The need for power outages will be reviewed again, after Norochcolai restarts its full operations, and after we assess our hydropower dependence,” a CEB spokesperson told The Morning yesterday (30). He added that Norochcholai was restarted for a short while on Saturday evening (29) as a trial run. Norochcholai’s Unit Three adds 300 megawatts (MW) to the national grid, but faced a breakdown during the first week of December, leading the CEB to rely on its hydropower reserves and expensive furnace and diesel stocks to run fuel-powered power plants. Following this, Sri Lanka has been grappling with a fuel crisis this month, amidst the ongoing dollar crisis. A report about the breakdown is expected in February. Although scheduled power cuts were requested by the CEB thrice this month, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) denied permission at the eleventh hour for the latest two requests, as it claimed that following its review of existing fuel stocks, and with the anticipation that Norochcholai Unit Three will be added to the national grid at the beginning of February, power outages are not necessary. This month, the CEB has been increasingly reliant on its fuel-powered Sapugaskanda and Kelanitissa Power Plants. The Sapugaskanda “A” Power Plant (60 MW) ran out of furnace oil yesterday (30). However, Power Minister Gamini Lokuge told the media yesterday that since the usage of electricity is less during the weekends, the 60 MW shortage will not be felt. “From Monday (today), we must see how we will get next week’s fuel. We are also discussing with Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC) about directly acquiring fuel from them to the CEB,” said Lokuge. Although attempts were made earlier this month to procure fuel from LIOC to the CEB, LIOC rejected the request, citing difficulties with the ongoing dollar crisis in the country.


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