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| Sunday, 12 January 2003 |
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Islandwide blackouts : Sabotage ruled out by ANTON NONIS The islandwide blackouts experienced last week may not be the only blackouts to be experienced this year. The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) while dispelling fears of the blackouts being acts of sabotage, identified the culprit as faults in certain sections of the National Grid and warned that more blackouts may be in store because of the nature of the power network. The CEB said, the second blackout which occurred last Monday and lasted for nearly two hours from 9.45 pm was the longest of the two experienced and said investigations had revealed it to have been caused by the bursting of a systems breaker at the Polpitiya power house. Built in 1970 and commissioned in 1974, the Polpitiya power house supplies 75 mega watts to the National Grid. According to the CEB spokesman the electrical plant is now subjected to a complete rehabilitation as most parts in it are old and the project will involve the replacement of unserviceable parts. Investigations into the first blackout on January 3 had revealed it to have originated in the 165 mega watt combined cycle power plant in Kelanitissa. The failure had been caused by electrical trippings, first in the 55 mega watt steam section of the plant and then 110 mega watt diesel section of the plant. These almost immediately led to trippings in the 115 mega watt GT 7 power plant installed in the same premises in Kelanitissa. |
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