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Restarting Sapugaskanda delayed till 30 January

27 Jan 2022

  • Due to delay in S’pore crude oil ship arrival 
  • Privately run Sojitz Plant out of action for one week
BY Pamodi Waravita Although the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery was due to start operations today (27), it has been postponed till about 30 January, the Energy Ministry stated yesterday (26).  “The Singaporean ship carrying the crude oil stock for the Refinery has been delayed by about three days and was only due to travel close to the Colombo Port yesterday (26). The letters of credit (LCs) and other necessities are successfully completed at the moment for the purchase of the crude oil,” the Energy Ministry had said in a statement issued in this regard.  The refinery was shut down last month, with Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila stating that the US dollar crisis had led to a difficulty in importing crude oil to the country. Gammanpila said earlier this week that once the refinery restarts its operations, they will be able to provide furnace oil through the refinery to the power plants generating electricity that depend on furnace oil.  Meanwhile, The Morning learnt that the privately run Kelanitissa Sojitz Power Plant is undergoing compulsory, overdue routine maintenance for the next seven days. It is learnt that this may lead to short power outages due to the unbalance in the system.  However, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) was due to provide diesel stocks to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) yesterday, as per the discussions with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Power Minister Gamini Lokuge, and Gammanpila on 24 January. The CPC supplied 750 metric tonnes (MT) of fuel to Sapugaskanda and 900 MT of fuel to the Colombo Barge Mounted Power Plant on 24 January night in order to ensure operations. The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) said on 25 January that there is no necessity for power outages till today, as it has observed the availability of sufficient fuel stocks for the generation of electricity for the next three days. Unit Three of the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant, which is currently undergoing renovations, is scheduled to resume power generation before the end of this month. “With that, the PUCSL is confident that there will be an uninterrupted electricity supply,” PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said this week. The Norochcholai Coal Power Plant, which faced a breakdown last month, is expected to restart its operations at the end of this month. Lokuge said this week that power cuts can be avoided in February once the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant restarts its operations, adding that the necessary coal stocks are expected in time. “LCs for two coal ships were opened on 24 January, each carrying 60,000 tonnes of coal. We have to open only seven LCs in February, eight in March, and seven in April in order to get the stocks adequate for the entire year.” The power crisis has been ongoing for the past month, with Lokuge and Gammanpila attempting to prioritise fuel for their respective power and energy sectors. Solutions proposed by the PUCSL include utilising privately and state institution-owned backup generators which sit idle most of the time. It has further proposed energy-saving mechanisms to the public. Gammanpila stated that they have also agreed that the CEB should be allowed to directly receive diesel and furnace oil stocks through an Indian loan facility.


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