Power cut duration to be extended?

The duration of daily power interruptions is likely to be extended to nearly three hours from tomorrow (Aug 16), the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) says.

The CEB said it is compelled to take this decision as the national grid lost 270 megawatts of electricity due to the breakdown of Unit 1 at the Lakvijaya Power Plant in Norochcholai.

Despite the situation, no changes have been made to the rolling power cut duration scheduled for the day. Accordingly, the power supply will be interrupted for one hour and 20 minutes today.

Earlier this morning, Power & Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera announced that Unit 1 of the Norochcholai Power Plant has suffered a breakdown and the technical staff members are working to identify the fault.

According to the CEB, at least two weeks are required to restore operations of Unit 1.

Meanwhile, due to the essential maintenance work of Unit 2, the national grid has lost another 270 megawatts of electricity. Accordingly, only Unit 3 is operative at the moment.

Owing to the situation, the West Coast Power and other fuel power plants will be used to manage the power supply for the time being, Minister Wijesekera said further.