In the wake of another electricity tariff hike by 56 percent, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is now in great difficulty in restarting the country’s only coal-fired power plant, the Lakvijaya Plant in Norochcholai, a routine maintenance, engineers said.
The power plant has to be shut down as the recruitment of new engineers to fill the vacancies of the technical staff due to restraining order issued by the court suspending new enrolments, they claimed.
12 engineers are needed to maintain the operation of the thermal power plant but only six of them are available for work while the rest have not reported for duty without citing reasons.
These six engineers are believed to have left the island for greener pastures overseas.
There was a shortage of 20 engineers in the operation division although the approved cadre is 40.
Under this set up, Norochcholai power plant’s units are now at a risk of simultaneous shutdowns as they have been overdue for major overhauls for two years risking the power generation of 40 percent of the total demand.
