A faulty steam tube at the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant has forced the shutdown of a 300 MW unit while another 300 MW unit is currently undergoing routine maintenance, CEB sources told The Morning last week. As learnt by The Morning, the power plant was scheduled for maintenance till January, as it prepares to supply electricity during the dry season from February to May. However, the CEB management confirmed that a unit of the power plant was currently not functioning due to a fault in a steam tube. In August, the entire country was left without power in an hours-long outage, following an “unspecified failure” at the Kerawalapitiya Power Plant. Later, the country faced power cuts for a few days as the CEB couldn’t turn on the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant immediately following the blackout.

Source: The Nation November 23, 2020 00:00 UTC