Serious security threat to electricity network – Deputy Power Minister
Deputy power minister has warned of a “serious security threat” to its electricity grid as engineers finally managed to get the Norochcholai power plant to function fully this morning.
Deputy power minister Ajith Perera said investigators had not ruled out sabotage in Sunday’s blast and a fire at the main distribution centre just outside the capital.
“There is a serious security threat. That is why the military has been called in to protect these (electricity) locations,” the minister told reporters in Colombo.
He said investigators had so far been unable to determine the cause of the blast that plunged the country into darkness for about eight hours, the worst black-out in 20 years. Sri Lanka’s army, navy and airforce have been deployed to provide round-the-clock protection to all installations.
The military was deployed at vital sites during the island’s decades-long Tamil separatist war that ended in May 2009, but there have been no guerrilla-related attacks in the past seven years.
Authorities imposed electricity rationing of seven-and-a-half hours daily as engineers tried to restore normal supplies after Sunday’s fire. But by Thursday night, authorities had managed to get the system fully back online.
The US$1.35 billion plant commissioned in 2011 has been plagued with frequent breakdowns, he said.
Sunday’s was the second major power failure in less than a month and the worst since May 1996, when the entire country was without electricity for four days, AFP reports.
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Hey Mr Minister,
If the CEB’s investigators have so far been unable to determine the cause of the blast that plunged the country into darkness for about eight hours, the worst black-out in 20 years, they must be a stupid group of ageing monkeys.
The CEB, right from Minister, Chairman, Directors, Staff right up to peons are all corrupt to the the core.
Mr Minister, deploy a special FCID for the CEB and make it right, if you are a true lion of the land.
Mr Minister your talking nonsense there is no connection between the blast and Noracholai power plant not being able to have hot start up you are a disgrace to the intellectual UNP Party Please give a answer why there was no hot start up at Norachalai the full load would have been been given in about in one hour with hot start up not 5 days and as such our country as loss billion of Rupees and you should be reported to the FCID for protecting those responsible for such losses by calling it sabotage also find out why there has not been full load throw off before aceptence of these plants then if the plant could not have a hot start up the plant would never have been accepted all this Billions of Rupees loss to our country is that there is no hot start up even in the instructing Manual if there was it should have been used
It appears now that emergency switch has been pressed by the shift charge Engineer no one can call him for a explanation if he thinks the life of his staff is at risk he should trigger emergency shut down. In the kelenitissa control room there was a picture of a turbine in France showing the damage and loss of life that had occurred due to the shift charge Engineer not shutting down on emergency the turbine had over speed ed and taken off like a rocket and landed 5 km away, but at kelanitissa for hot start up after emergency there was a dedicated power station of 12 MW Pethah Power station feeding only the standby transformers and it was used during the acceptance set when it was triped on emergency as such it is not only coal power station even oil steam power stations have this problem, however why not negotiate with the heavy oil diesel plant owners at Putalam get a unit of 25 MW dedicated to be connected to the Norcholai Standby transfomers the Noracholai coal Power station for a hot start up under emergency shut down It won cost billions of rupees for only annual charge will be paid and if it is used only operating charges it may cost well below a million rupees per year not Billions of rupees as Champica Ranawaka states