Jaffna’s total power needs met

Ridma DISSANAYAKE

The total electricity requirement of Jaffna district has been met while the thermal power plant established in Jaffna added another 24 mega watts to the national electricity grid, the Power and Energy Ministry said yesterday.

Arrangements for the thermal power plant was made last July. The government hopes to provide electricity round the clock to Jaffna district.

There are 121,000 electricity consumers in the Jaffna Peninsula and till the end of last year, only 90 percent were provided electricity, a ministry spokesman said.The Northern Provincial Deputy General Manager's Office said the thermal power plant will fulfill electricity needs of all people in the peninsula.Lanka Electricity Company (Private) Limited invested Rs 3,500 million on this project on behalf of the Ceylon Electricity Board. The power plant has three power generating machines. Each has the ability to generate eight mega watts. The maximum generating capacity of this power plant is 24 mega watts.

Selecting the Chunnakam power plant premises to establish the new power station, establishing operating offices, plant yards and generating machines, completing the experiment level generating activities and adding the total electricity capacity of this power plant to the national electricity grid were done in six months. This is the first power station in Sri Lanka established in six months,” CEB Additional General Manager (Projects) Shavindranath Fernando said.

Technical operations of the power plant, establishing generating machines and monitoring construction activities were done by Lanka Transformers Company.

“The experiment level generating activities of the power plant commenced on December 26. Plans have been finalised to add 24 mega watts to the national grid on January 16,” Fernando said.