Sri Lanka’s Lakvijaya power plant down

Aug 08, 2012 (LBO) - Power generation in Sri Lanka's newly built Lakvijaya coal power plant in north-western Puttalam district has been temporarily suspended due to a problem in a transmission line,the ministry of power and energy releasing a statement said.

The ministry said a sudden breakdown in the transmission line which takes power from the generator to the grid prompted engineers to temporarily suspend power generation as a safety measure.

The breakdown in the transmission line has automatically halted the plant's generator.

The breakdown has caused a loss of 300 megawatts of power to the national grid, the ministry statement said.

The ministry said a proper assessment of the situation can only be known later in the day.

Authorities have appealed to the public to reduce consumption during peak hours, saying hydro-power reservoirs were running dry and several thermal plants had broken down.