The Kelanitissa Power Station is a state-owned power station located on the south bank of the
Kelani River in the northern part of the city of
Colombo,
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 ...
. Commissioned in 1964, it is the first thermal power station built in Sri Lanka, after the country gained independence. The facility has a current gross installed capacity of , a significant amount when compared to the total installed capacity of nearly in the year 2017.
The facility is owned and operated by the
Ceylon Electricity Board.
The power station has a total of 10 generation units: two
boiler steam units, six
gas turbines, one gas turbine, and one
combined cycle
A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turb ...
unit. As of 2018, both units and two units were decommissioned after the commissioning of the combined cycle unit.
[ The old units are now used as peak-load units. The was sent to Italy for renovations in 2011.][ It consists of a gas turbine and a steam turbine, and one exhaust heat recovery boiler.][ Initially, the capacity was planned at with two or three units, but a single unit with higher capacity was subsequently chosen.][
]
Incidents
* On 28 October 2008 at 23:30, the LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
launched two bombs in an aerial attack on the power station, causing a fire and damaging the government-owned Fiat unit. It took six months to restore the unit while one person was reported to have died, possibly due to shock. The attack was carried out using a Czech-built Zlín Z 42
The Zlín Z 42 is a single-engine two-seat Czechoslovakian trainer aircraft manufactured by Moravan Otrokovice. A developed version, the Z 142, is the most popular aircraft variant in the manufacturer's aircraft line.
Design and development
...
single-engine trainer aircraft.
* On 21 April 2012 at about 03:00, a fire erupted at the power station complex, damaging the main switchboard for the plant's power generation machinery. Power generation was ceased, but did not trigger any blackouts due to alternative sources being available at the time. Six employees of the power station who inhaled noxious fumes as a result of the fire were hospitalized.
* On 3 February 2022 at about 20:00, the combined power station was shut down due to lack of fuel
See also
* Sojitz Kelanitissa Power Station
The Sojitz Kelanitissa Power Station (also known as Sojitz Power Station, and AES Kelanitissa Power Station), is privately owned diesel-fired combined cycle power station located in Kelanitissa, in the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is owned b ...
* Electricity in Sri Lanka
* List of power stations in Sri Lanka
References
{{Electricity in Sri Lanka
Oil-fired power stations in Sri Lanka
Natural gas-fired power stations in Sri Lanka
Japan International Cooperation Agency
Buildings and structures in Colombo