More power cuts ahead? - CEB to decide today

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is expected to decide today (10) whether power cuts will be required to be imposed as the Norochcholai coal power plant remains disconnected from the national grid.

A special discussion regarding the situation is scheduled to take place today, as authorities assess the electricity supply following the island-wide power outage that occurred yesterday (09) at approximately 11.15 a.m. The disruption was linked to an incident at the Panadura grid substation.

Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody attributed the outage to an accident caused by a monkey entering the substation. However, the CEB explained that the incident led to an imbalance in the power system, triggering the widespread blackout.

Efforts were made to restore power, but the process was hindered due to low electricity demand on Sunday. While the CEB had fully restored power by 6.00 p.m., all three generators at the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant were automatically disconnected due to the activation of its protocol system.

This shutdown resulted in a loss of 900 megawatts to the national grid. As electricity demand increased after 6.00 p.m., several areas experienced power outages. To counteract the shortfall, the CEB obtained electricity from thermal power plants, ultimately restoring power across the island by 9.45 p.m.

Despite these efforts, the CEB has stated that it will take approximately four days to restart the three generators at the Norochcholai plant. Today’s meeting will focus on strategies to manage the electricity demand and avoid power cuts during this period.

Meanwhile, Minister Jayakody issued a press release addressing the power outage, stating that the absence of a proper system to balance the national power supply was a result of past government policies. The statement further criticized previous administrations for implementing unplanned and short-sighted energy programs, which, according to the ministry, contributed to the recent disruption.