*N’cholai phase II load too heavy for grid

June 18, 2013, 9:55 pm

by Ifham Nizam


There is a possibility of the country being plunged into a total blackout if the first coal fired power plant, in Norochcholai, trips off after the commissioning of the second stage this September. That could happen as the existing power lines are unable to cope with a doubling of the load, senior engineers of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) warned yesterday.


Engineers told The Island that although they hoped to commission the second stage soon, there was some doubt as to whether the doubling of the power load, from the current 300 MW to 600 MW, could be handled by the existing high tension cables. "Going with the existing network, certainly there would be number of technical problems, especially when one considers the weather patterns and adverse climatic conditions."




Some engineers warn that after the commissioning of the second plant, the first plant needs to be overhauled due to numerous technical problems.


Plans are underway to supply electricity, through the existing Kilo Voltage (KV) lines, even to the second plant despite fears of the lines being overloaded, according to highly placed sources.


An engineer at the plant told The Island that with the existing 220 KV lines not widespread, there certainly was a huge possibility of there being blackouts. "Without constructing the new Anuradhapura KV line, the commissioning of the third stage is not possible. The present KV line runs only up to Veyanagoda," he added.


He also said that though the construction of a 100 km line to Anuradhapura had just commenced, after months of delay, there was a problem with the line along the four kilometre stretch in the Puttalam lagoon area, due to fishermen’s protests. He added: "It is high time the government settled the matter soon with the fishing communities."

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