Colombo, Oct. 19 (Daily Mirror) - Sri Lanka may have to impose at least limited power cuts following the breakdown of all three units at the Norochcholai coal-fired power plant, with the restoration of the first unit expected to take at least four to five days, energy expert Dr. Vidura Ralapanawa warned.
Dr. Ralapanawa said the breakdown had removed around 900 megawatts from the national grid, raising concerns over the country's ability to meet electricity demand as consumption increases from tomorrow.
“Today is Sunday, so electricity demand is relatively low. There will be no major issue during the daytime, particularly with solar power contributing to the grid. However, the situation could become challenging from tomorrow when demand increases,” he said.
He warned that authorities would have to consider how to manage electricity supplies during peak demand hours, particularly between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., amid uncertainty over whether available generation would be sufficient.
“Even if we use oil and diesel-fired power plants around the clock, the question is whether we can meet the huge demand. This would also incur a substantial cost, which ultimately has to be borne by the public,” Dr. Ralapanawa said.
He urged the Government to take immediate measures to manage electricity supplies and address the shortfall until the Norochcholai plant returns to normal operation.
“This is not the first time this has happened. Several institutions have studied the reasons behind these breakdowns and made recommendations on what needs to be done to prevent them. However, those recommendations have not been adequately implemented, and responsibility has been neglected,” he said.
Dr. Ralapanawa said that the authorities must focus on addressing longstanding weaknesses in the electricity sector rather than limiting their response to identifying the immediate cause of the latest breakdown.
“What needs to be done is not to find out where the monkey jumped, but to find out how to maintain this system stably, no matter what monkey jumps,” he said.
The latest breakdown has renewed concerns over the resilience of Sri Lanka's electricity supply system and the need for effective contingency measures to prevent failures at major power plants from disrupting supplies to consumers.