Glitches in the grid?

CEB yet to find out what caused the four-hour blackout that brought the country to a standstill on February 25:

by Rukshana Rizwie

Officials still in the dark about the technical issues

While it has been speculated that lightning may have been the reason for the power failure which plunged the country into utter darkness for over four hours on February 25, officials at the Ceylon Electricity Board were quick to point out that it may take weeks to establish the factors that led to it.

“Our initial suspicion was that lightning may have tripped the main supply at a key distribution point, but other causes such as technical fault have not been ruled out,” said Bandula Thilaksena, acting General Manager at the CEB.

He added that ascertaining the main reasons for the power failure may take weeks as there were too many glitches on the grid that needed to be investigated. Due to the blackout which prompted shops and offices to close early, Parliament was also adjourned and motorists were stranded as traffic lights failed to function.

The power failure continued in some parts of the country for three consecutive days. The power outage was the second to hit the country in less than five months.

Identified

However, an authoritative source at the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy who did not want to be identified said that lightning could not be the main cause of the power failure.

“If lightning had struck the main circuit transmitting electricity between the Polpitiya Substation and Kolonnawa in Colombo, a power failure could have been experienced in Colpetty and other areas in the outskirts of Colombo, but to have an islandwide blackout suggests that the problem was much greater,” he said.

“The national power supply is plagued with a lot of shortcomings. The networks are not connected and the entire grid is not integrated into one system,” he explained. “The current system is outdated and there is no coordination. When Norochcholai power plant falters, power failure reigns.”

The Norrochcholi power plant. Pic: Sudath Nishantha

He cautioned that while it was possible to avert a power failure, officials were still in the dark about the technical issues and faults.

Report

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe appointed a special five-member committee to probe the recent power failure. He has instructed the committee to submit a report in four weeks and make recommendations to avert such power failures in future.

“We don’t have a power crisis,” Thilaksena added. “Norochcholai is the largest power plant and is handling a large amount of energy and power. When there are fluctuations in demand, Norochcholai does not cushion off the effects because there is power generated from the other power plants.”

He added that Norochcholai can deliver up to 2,200 megawatts during the day, but on that particular day during the power failure, the demand had been in the range of 1,000 to 1,500 only. “There is no ‘on’ and ‘off’ switch for Norochcholai,” he said.

“There are, however, circumstances and situations which may have led to the power failure which we are now investigating.”

Power and Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said that the immediate reason for the blackout was a lightning strike and that the safety valve which had been installed at the Norochcholai Power Station had automatically triggered following the lightning strike.

He has also ordered an internal probe from a committee comprising CEB officials and an external probe which will include insights from technical experts and academics to study the situation and make appropriate recommendations.