By Chaturanga Samarawickrama  

The third coal power plant in Norochcholai has been shut down due to a technical fault and, as a result, power cuts may have to be extended, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) said.  

PUCSL chairman Janaka Rathnayake told the Daily Mirror that the power plant was shut down since last night due to an external technical error in the pipelines which are used to transfer water. This is not a major issue, but it will take several days to restore.  

However, following an emergency meeting conducted yesterday, the PUCSL has approved a three-hour power cut for yesterday and a two-hour and twenty-minute power cut for today.  
“The main grid will lose 540MW of power with the shutting down of the Norochcholai third coal power plant (270MW) due to a technical fault and the second power plant (270MW) for maintenance,” he said.  

The Norochcholai second coal power plant, which is under repair for maintenance, will resume operation on October 1. The Norochcholai third power plant will resume on Sunday (October 2). 

We have the ability to operate the three coal power plants within the next two weeks while adding 900MW to the national grid.  

Therefore, the Chairman requested the government and the responsible authorities to act immediately to explore any alternative renewable energy sources as the remaining coal power plants break down.  

The Chairman blamed previous governments for not taking any measures to build any plants for electricity generation.  

Meanwhile, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has informed him that Unit three of the Norochcholai power plant has been shut down due to a steam leak. 

• CEB has informed that Unit three of the Norochcholai power plant has been shut down due to a steam leak