The Kankesanthurai Power Station (also commonly referred to as the Koolair Power Station) was a
fuel oil
Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...
-run thermal power station which was commissioned as part of the urgent plan by the
Ceylon Electricity Board to overcome the 1990s power crisis. Construction of the power station began in August 1998, and the power station was commissioned three months later on in
Kankesanthurai, in the
Jaffna Peninsula of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. It was the biggest power station in the Jaffna region, at that time.
Despite having an original installed capacity of , the power station had mostly operated in the 8-15 MW range due to
conflict damage caused by
artillery fire to the plant (and neighbouring Kankesanthurai Cement Factory) in May 2000. The operators were unable to repair the damage due to the insurance company rejecting the claim, stating that it was due to war, and not due to terrorism for which it was originally insured for.
History
The plant equipment was imported in 1996 and initially commissioned in
Ethul Kotte (in January 1997) and
Malabe (in 1998) as separate power stations with capacities of and .
Due to the protests and complaints against the high levels of noise of up to 100
dB caused by the operation of the Kotte Power Station in the residential area, it was transferred to its final location at
Kankesanthurai in the
Jaffna District, in August 1998. The plant operated only for three months in Kotte - generating a total of prior to transfer.
The Malabe Power Station too faced similar concerns about noise, before changes were made to reduce sound output from 102dB to 49dB. With increasing demand in the Jaffna Peninsula, the facility too was subsequently shifted from Malabe in December 1999, to the newly created facility in Kankesanthurai. Seventeen generators were relocated in a period of three months.
See also
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List of power stations in Sri Lanka
References
External links
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{{Electricity in Sri Lanka
Oil-fired power stations in Sri Lanka
Buildings and structures in Jaffna District
Former power stations in Sri Lanka