One steam turbine was completely gutted, cutting off 65 MW of power to the National Grid when a major fire broke out yesterday morning in the newly opened Kelanitissa Combined Cycle Power plant. Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Chairman told the Daily News yesterday that the cause of the fire has yet to be determined. According to him, the power plant consisted of a gas and steam turbine.

The gas turbine had not been damaged, the Chairman said. He ruled out any disruption to the regular power supply since the quantum of power lost to the National Grid was insignificant considering the daily requirement of 1500MW.

However, the Chairman requested the public to use electricity more sparingly due to the drought. The Minister of Power and Energy who visited the site, directed Police to investigate.

Reported in the Daily News.