Breakdowns and the blame game

• Is it a technical or quality issue or is there a hidden hand behind these breakdowns

It is interesting how quick the media is to report the breakdown in the Lakvijaya Coal Power plant and speculating on the cause, when even the engineers are still investigating the problems. It’s worse when the writers point out that the breakdown is costing the country millions in losses due to the loss of generating capacity. But seldom does anyone question the cost or losses the country and the Electricity Board has to bear if the coal power plant never existed.
The CEB’s current turnaround is primarily due to the generation capacity of the coal power plant and we have to accept that fact. If not, we will be paying a fuel surcharge and this increased cost of electricity for many more years to come.
Another issue with some of these reports is the issue about the quality of the power plant. ‘Invisible CEB officials’ have been quoted by the media in the past, making numerous claims including that the plant is a used unit transferred from another location, that substandard material was used, etc.
I would seriously question the integrity and knowledge of any ‘CEB official’ who makes these claims. Firstly, any engineer worth his salt would tell you that mega projects such as these are designed ground up to suite the local landscape and climatic conditions. This is not a diesel generator that can be transported from place to place. This kind of operation requires meticulous planning and preparations and the involvement of the client from the initial phase of planning. Each supplier is thoroughly wetted by the client, in this case the Electricity Board and the Ministry and approved.
As for the standard of the material used, I am confident the contractor and the equipment manufacturer have ample experience in designing and building such plants and from what I find on the web, their experience is substantial.
Therefore, the quality of the material cannot be faulted. However, like any project, exceptional situations do occur and some of these operating conditions cannot be planned for. The best solution in these cases is to quickly evaluate the issue and resolve it and use the learning in future endeavours.
Finally, I am drawn to question the frequent breakdowns of such a plant, in the light that coal is the major fuel used for generating electricity worldwide. In 2012 coal was used to generate 41% of the world’s electricity or over 9,000 terawatt hours of electricity. China, the home-base of the contractor, produces 81% of its electricity from coal. There is this great wealth of knowledge out there on how to build an efficient and reliable coal power plant.
In this scenario, the only conclusion I can draw is that most of the breakdowns are the result of human error in the installation process. This is possibly due to the lack of clear communication between the Chinese contractors and the local engineers and staff or a case of sabotage. As scandalous as this sounds, it should not be completely ruled out if you consider the parties who are to gain the most from a non-functional coal power plant.
The writer is a former external consultant for the Ceylon Electricity Board and was involved with the initial phase of the Norachcholai and Upper Kothmale Hydro Power the projects in 2001.