Power cuts suspended as Lakvijaya unit returns to full capacity

The National System Operator (Pvt) Ltd has said there will be no need for scheduled power cuts from Thursday after a generating unit at the Lakvijaya Power Plant returned to full capacity.

The company said Unit Two of the Lakvijaya coal-fired power plant began operating at its full capacity of 270 megawatts from 1.31 p.m. on Thursday, allowing electricity supply to be maintained normally.

An islandwide power failure occurred at 11.43 a.m. and 32 seconds on Saturday, 17 October, following an imbalance in the transmission system.

The disruption caused all three generating units at the Lakvijaya plant in Norochcholai to shut down.

To manage electricity demand while generation capacity was being restored, the National System Operator introduced one-hour daily power cuts across the country.

The island was divided into four zones for the scheduled interruptions, which were implemented on 19, 20 and 21 October.

The operator said the restoration of Lakvijaya’s second generating unit to full capacity meant those demand-management measures were no longer required from Thursday.