Hearing of a breakdown at the Norochcholai Power Station is not really ‘news’ anymore. It has happened so much and so often, it’s like a normal day in Sri Lanka for most people.

By now you may have guessed what this story is about. And chances are you called it right. -Generator 1 at the Norochcholai Power Station has broken down. Again.

Update – Tuesday, April 18

Tuesday, April 18 – The Minister of Power and Renewable Energy visited the Power-plant and inquired in to the status of the shut-down Generator.

Speaking to the media during the visit, the min. Ranjith Siyambalapitiya gave the following stats;

• Generator 1 has failed 37 times since it came in to operation.
• Generator 2 was in operation since 2014 and shutdown 17 times.
• Generator 3 was in operation since 2015 and shutdown 9 times.

However, Minister Siyambalapitiya assured that there will be a continuous supply of electricity with no power-cuts.

Monday, April 18

The generator was powered down around 10:10 a.m. on Monday due to a vapour leak from the boiler.

The Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy says the electricity supply from the Ratnapura, Mathugama, Kosgama and Panadura Sub Stations were cut-off for 15 minutes to maintain balance on the grid.

Incidentally, Norochcholai houses another generator which is not in an operational state. The plant’s Generator 3 is currently down due to maintenance work.

Generator 1 – Not in operation (being prepared to go into operation soon)
Generator 2 – In operation
Generator 3 – Down for maintenance

According to the Ministry of Power & Renewable Energy, there are four other power stations which are currently supplying energy.

• Kelanitissa power station (Thermal)
• Sapugaskanda power station (Thermal)
• E.S. Kelanitissa Power Station
• Embilipitiya Power Station

“We will have to wait for three days until the temperature reduces. Only then can we assess the extent of the leak and see how long it will take for repairs. Maybe it can be repaired in an hour. But it will take three days for the temperature to reduce so we can say for sure”, said Media Spokesperson of the  Ministry of Power & Renewable Energy

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