Ravi instructs to expedite connecting Chunnakam Power station to national grid

Power, Energy and Business Development Minister 

Ravi Karunanayake 

Power, Energy and Business Development Minister Ravi Karunanayake has instructed the Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and relevant authorities to take steps to expedite adding electricity generated from the Chunnakam Power plant to the national grid.

The Minister has instructed the relevant officials while engaging in an inspection visit to the Chunnakam Power station during an official visit to Jaffna and Vavuniya recently.

The main objective of this visit was to identify the electricity needs of the people in the area, identify the problems of electricity supply and solve problems of the consumers, and explore the possibility of generating renewable power in those areas.

During the visit, the Minister also inspected the CEB Chief Engineer’s office of the Jaffna area, the Deputy General Manager’s office, and the Northern Power Office operating inside the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) premises, and exchanged ideas with the staff in those offices.

The Minister instructed the relevant sections to carry out the needed repairs in the offices as well as the development activities.

Expressing his views during the visit, the Minister said it is clear that according to the recommendations of the Environment Ministry, this plant does not cause any harm to the environment.

He instructed the officials to take immediate measures to make a request to the Court and with a Court Order and Court’s permission reactivate the Chunnakam Power station, to add the electricity generated from the plant to the national grid.

“At present power generation at Chunnakam Power Plant run by Northern Power has been suspended due to litigation. Activating this plant will be very important to overcome the difficulties faced by the electricity sector, due to the present dry weather. Through reactivating the plant, we will be able to continue to further refrain from emergency power purchases that have been suspended now,” the Minister said.

The Chunnakam Power Plant had faced a number of legal cases due to the alleged contamination of water resources in the region. However Northern Power Co. Ltd, which operates the plant, says the plant is in no way responsible for the water contamination issue and the allegations are baseless. (Colombopage)