- Energy Minister and CEB seek to pull the plug on GT7
- Initially planned for shut down in 2026
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is currently deliberating an early retirement plan for the Kelanitissa GT7 power plant, a substantial energy asset generating 115 MW.
Sources close to the matter opined that the move was being considered due to the power plant’s low efficiency, which has led to the production of high-cost diesel energy.
The CEB had earlier planned to shut down GT7 in 2026.
However, this potential move has sparked a contentious debate among senior officials within the CEB, The Sunday Morning learns.
Some officials argue that retiring the Kelanitissa GT7 power plant prematurely could result in a significant energy shortfall of precisely 115 MW across the national grid.
Presently, there are alternative power plants capable of seamlessly compensating for GT7’s energy generation capacity.
A senior engineer affiliated with the Generation Division of the CEB, speaking on terms of anonymity, shed light on the current discourse surrounding the potential early retirement of the Kelanitissa GT7.
The engineer emphasised that while GT7 was being termed as inefficient, there was a lack of discussion regarding the essential role it had played in meeting the country’s energy demands during recent months of severe grid shortages.
The engineer claimed that GT7, despite requiring a substantial overhaul, had been instrumental in alleviating the country’s energy deficit during critical periods.
Moreover, the engineer highlighted a crucial point regarding the transition: retiring GT7 would necessitate the activation of Sobadhanavi, initially designed as an LNG power plant.
However, due to the unavailability of LNG supply to Sri Lanka, Sobadhanavi would operate on diesel, posing a challenge to the envisioned energy transition.
The CEB’s current reliance on purchasing nearly 100 MW of emergency power from private power plants to address shortages in the Southern Province was brought to attention by the engineer.
In light of this, the engineer strongly advocated for a thorough reevaluation of GT7’s retirement, considering the critical role it continues to play in ensuring the stability and reliability of the national energy grid.
Adding context to the deliberations surrounding the Kelanitissa GT7 power plant, it has come to light that the CEB had outlined in its Long-Term Generation Expansion Plan for 2023-2042 that the retirement year for the 115 MW Kelanitissa GT7 had been extended until end 2026.
The extension is rooted in the need to conduct manufacturer-recommended major scheduled maintenance work, in addition to any other essential maintenance necessary to sustain the operational status of the power plant.
In such a backdrop, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera highlighted in Parliament the pressing need to retire the Kelanitissa thermal power plant due to its exorbitant generating costs.
Minister Wijesekera said that the power station should have ideally been taken out of service in 2020, yet it had remained operational, despite the burden of high running expenses.
One of the key revelations made by the Minister was the staggering cost associated with generating a single unit of power at the Kelanitissa station, which stands as high as Rs. 144 per unit.
This alarming figure underlines the financial strain and inefficiency that the power plant poses within the country’s energy landscape.
To address this challenge and steer towards cost-effective power generation, the Government is actively considering the acquisition of ACE Power.
This move is part of a broader strategy to produce power at a substantially lower cost, thereby ensuring a more economically-viable and sustainable energy supply for the nation.
Meanwhile, CEB Chairman Nalinda Ilangakoon has also emphasised on the need of retiring the Kelanitissa GT7 power plant plant due to its low efficiency.
When contacted by The Sunday Morning, Ilangakoon echoed the Minister’s stance and emphasised on the necessity of taking action in line with this assessment.
Ilangakoon stated: “We will submit this proposal to the board and take necessary action accordingly.”