Entire North to be electrified soon

The entire Northern Province will be electrified soon; nearly 95 percent of households in Jaffna already have electricity, Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said.

Briefing the media at the Ministry, he said the Vavuniya-Kilinochchi high-tension line was constructed at a cost of Rs 3,200 million with funds from JICA on a soft loan basis. Construction work on this line was completed within two years. The Minister said 238 towers have been constructed along the Vavuniya-Kilinochchi high-tension line. The completed towers and the Kilinochchi sub-grid station will be opened under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday.

Minister Ranawaka said under the second phase, a 132 volt high-tension line will be constructed from Kilinochchi to Chunnakam. The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) will construct this line. Another sub-grid station will be constructed in Chunnakam.

There are 121,000 electricity consumers in Jaffna. A thermal power plant is being constructed by the CEB to meet future electricity demands of the North. The plant will have the capacity of producing 24 mw of electricity and will commence electricity generation in five months.

The LTTE brought the Northern electricity grid to a halt when the Indian Peace Keeping Force launched 'Operation Pawan" on October 6, 1987. Since then the Northern electricity grid wasn't joined to the national grid until recently. Minister Ranawaka said, "We could bridge the gap between the South and the North through the Vavuniya-Kilinochchi line and Kilinochchi sub-grid station".

MN