CEB to resume hydro-power generation

by P. Krishnaswamy

Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) General Manager W.J.L. Shavindranath Fernando said that the generation of hydro-power, instead of the current high-cost thermal power, will resume soon following rains by the middle of this month.

Power supply will not be interrupted under any circumstances although the CEB is going for short-term and long-term borrowings from state banks to tide over the huge expenditure on fuel for thermal power, he said.

The second stage of the Lak Vijaya coal power plant in Norochcholai is now operational and the plants add 300 megawatts to the national grid, he said. The Lak Vijaya power plant was timely, he said adding that the cost of the project and more have been recovered in the short-span of time since its commissioning.

About Rs. 50 billion was spent on the installation of the first plant and the amount earned through power generation from that plant alone is Rs. 65 billion, he said.

Had the project not been launched, the CEB would have had to spend an additional Rs. 65 billion on thermal power generation to meet the national requirement, he said. Since its commissioning some breakdowns were experienced, the major breakdown being in the condenser.

These faults have been rectified with the help of Chinese experts, Fernando said.