• Excessive use of hydropower may cause more issues later
• Fuel shortage strangles thermal power generation
• Spares needed for maintenance not yet received
• Around $ 10 m needed to source spare parts: PUCSL

By Maheesha Mudugamuwa Sri Lanka is bracing for long power cuts as the national grid will be short of 300 MW of power with one unit at the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant in Norochcholai taken offline for compulsory maintenance, The Sunday Morning learns. It is learnt that the existing power resources such as hydro, mini-hydro, solar, and diesel will not be sufficient to meet the deficit, especially due to the uncertainty over receiving furnace oil or diesel to generate electricity from thermal oil plants. At present, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) imposes daily power cuts spanning two hours and 15 minutes and it is expected that the duration will be extended by a few more hours from this week. According to CEB statistics, as of last Thursday (16), a total of 38.3% of the total energy requirement had been generated from hydropower and 45.3% of the total requirement had been supplied by thermal coal power. The total energy generation from thermal oil, CEB wind, Small Power Producers (SPP) solar, SPP biomass, SPP mini hydro, SPP wind, and Independent Power Producers (IPP) thermal oil were 2.69 GWh, 0.56 GWh, 0.14 GWh, 0.25 GWh, 1.68 GWh, 0.94 GWh, and 0.72 GWh respectively. As per the statistics from the CEB, the utility provider has supplied 42.64 GWh of which 19.91 GWh is from renewable and 22.73 GWh from fossil fuel to the national grid. The peak demand was approximately 2,036.1 MW. At present, the CEB is struggling to face the ever-increasing electricity demand of the country as it is currently running on a severe electricity shortage even when the country’s only coal power plant, Lakvijaya in Norochcholai, has been operating at its maximum capacity. Earlier the CEB said that there was a shortage of around 300 MW of electricity and the situation had worsened during the past few months due to the extreme difficulty in purchasing required petroleum fuel, specially furnace oil.  Initially, the Power and Energy Ministry was planning to meet the deficit from hydro, solar, wind, and diesel power, but the engineers attached to the CEB stressed that the existing water resources should not be used excessively to generate electricity as future rainfall could not be predicted. A senior engineer who wished to remain anonymous said exploiting hydropower to generate electricity was not advisable at a time when the country was facing one of the worst economic crises. “When hydro-power is being generated, the water is just draining without any use. We should save water. Therefore, hydro power should be used wisely and in a controllable manner. As engineers we advise to go for power cuts as burning diesel for generating electricity is also not possible nor advisable when considering the prices. The diesel can be used for the transport sector instead.” The engineer noted that the only option at present was to go for scheduled power cuts, which was currently happening in some countries in the region. “When the people are informed, the difficulties they will face will be less,” he added. He said that the power crisis would continue until a major power plant was commissioned. The existing furnace oil shortage in the country has forced several key power plants owned by the CEB that generate around 200 MW to completely stop their operations. According to the CEB, the power plants including Uthuru Janani (24 MW), Sapugaskanda A and B Power Plants (64 MW and 54 MW), and Barge Mounted Power Plant (60 MW) are inoperative at present due to the shortage of furnace oil. Meanwhile, Power and Energy Ministry Secretary M.P.D.U.K. Mapa Pathirana told The Sunday Morning that the Ministry would provide necessary fuel and furnace oil for the operation of other power plants. “These are annual maintenance and those maintenance should be conducted,” he added.  As per the CEB’s generation statistics, a total of 45.71% of the total energy generation of the country is produced by Norochcholai Power Plant while the rest is produced by hydro, wind, and thermal oil. The total hydropower generation that saw a drastic reduction last month has now got back on track while producing 34.75% of the total energy generation. The Lakvijaya Power Plant (LVPP), commonly known as the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant, is the largest thermal power station in Sri Lanka. Construction of the facility began in May 2006, with the first unit commissioning on 22 March 2011, adding 300 MW to the national grid. The $ 455 million first phase generates about 1.7 TWh of electricity annually, which is a significant addition to the energy portfolio of the country, when compared with the total electricity production of 11.5 TWh in 2011. Unit 2 and Unit 3 of LVPP started commercial operations in April 2014 and October 2014, respectively and each unit of LVPP produces electricity using a steam turbine, capable of generating 300 MW/unit, aggregating to 900 MW of generation capacity by the three units. At present, the three-unit coal power complex provides about 40% of the country’s energy needs. Even though the power plant was shut down for maintenance, The Sunday Morning learns the spare parts required for the maintenance are yet to be secured due to the existing foreign exchange crisis. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said receiving the necessary spare parts was essential as the plant had been shut down for maintenance. “Usually, it takes around 200 days for maintenance on an eight-hour shift by 400 workers. But it has now been reduced to 75 days on 16-hour shifts as one coal unit of 300 MW is vital for energy generation at present,” he said. “We are waiting for spares. Spares should come on time. We need $ 9 to 10 million for spares.” Ratnayake added: “We have almost 60% of hydro. Reservoir water levels are also at 50-60%. There is an El-Nino issue and rainfall will be less. Irrigation Department experts are confident that we will get adequate rainfall up to December. Depending on weather conditions, 8-14 GWh will be coming from hydro every day. Our plan is to use hydro up to around 15-16 GWh with mini-hydro, solar, and wind with two units of Norochcholai. We are talking about some 2,000 MW per day. For the deficit we need to find a suitable source. Diesel or furnace oil is hard to come by and therefore from Monday onwards we will have to go for longer power cuts,” Ratnayake explained. According to the CEB, ‘Level A’ category overhaul of a 300 MW coal-fired steam power plant should be performed after four to six years of its operation, as per the manufacturer’s recommendation. Unit 2 commenced its operation in January 2014 and completed its first ‘Level B’ overhaul in August 2018. It has now been operating for more than eight years from its first date of synchronisation. Due to Covid-19, the ‘Level A’ overhaul of unit 2 has been delayed two years beyond the maximum recommended time duration given by the manufacturer of the plant. Therefore, Level A overhaul should be performed with no further delay to ensure the expected lifetime of the unit (30 years from its first synchronisation). As per the CEB, the work involved for a Level A overhaul is estimated as 100 days, with the involvement of 400 dedicated technical staff. However, this time the overhaul is planned to be completed within 75 days. During the overhaul, it is planned to carry out about 800 activities of all main systems and associated sub systems of the generating unit. The overhaul is planned to be carried out with CEB’s own staff and a Chinese overhaul expert team. The power plant consists of very sensitive boiler, turbine and generator systems, and special maintenance works are to be carried out by skilled persons. The Cabinet of Ministers, based on the recommendations of the Cabinet-Appointed Procurement Committee, approved the awarding of the main service work of the overhaul to China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC).