By Chaturanga Samarawickrama  

Owing to the failure to establish power plants in recent times to add power to the national grid, immediate action needs to be taken to construct another 105 MW thermal power plant at the Kelanitissa power plant premises to overcome the present power crisis and we should take steps to add at least 1,000 MW to the national grid this year, Energy Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said.  

During a special inspection tour to monitor the current status of power plants installed around Colombo yesterday, she said that the Ministry intends to establish a Presidential Task Force to regulate solar power generation using roofs in order to alleviate the challenging situation that the country is currently facing in the face of daily electricity demand.  
During the visit, the Minister inspected the current condition of the Baj Power Plant at Kelanitissa, Sojitz, Asia Power, Sapugaskanda, and Colombo Ports and the Systems Control Unit at Battaramulla.  

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has become an institution strangled by huge debt burdens. Since it has not been considered to construct a single power plant in the recent past, a large volume of fuel has to be pumped for power generation. We must ensure the country comes out of this situation as soon as possible.   

As a result, urgent steps should be taken to add at least 1,000 MW to the national grid this year, according to the Minister.