Abstract
This case study is on the crisis that arose at the Samanalawewa Hydro Power Station (SWPS) of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), Sri Lanka due to the massive water leakage that occurred at the right abutment of its dam in 1992 during the trial impoundment of the reservoir and the subsequent stakeholder perception management of the power station. It covers a period of 20 years commencing from 1992 and ending in 2012. The power station commenced its commercial operations in 1992 after its construction work was completed under the Samanalawewa Hydro Electric Power (SHEP) Project. Although various remedial steps were taken to arrest the leak, it continued with an average flow of 2.4 m3/s. The low sustainability of the project and risks associated with the massive leakage of water downstream created a poor public perception about the Samanalawewa Hydro Power Station. Together with the staff of the Samanalawewa Hydro Electric Power Project , the management of the Samanalawewa Hydro Power Station took steps to change the perception of its stakeholders. This case study covers the successful perception management related to the SWPS. ENGINEER, Vol. 48, No.04, pp. 59-68, 2015
Highlights
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is the main power supplier to the national grid of Sri Lanka and controls all major functions of electricity generation, transmission and distribution in Sri Lanka.The CEB is one of the largest government owned utilities in Sri Lanka and in 2011 it had 16,192 permanent employees (CEBa, 2012)
The power generated in the Samanalwewa Hydro Power Station (SWPS) is dispatched by the System Control Centre (SCC) of the CEB according to the system demand
After the completion of the cut-off works on the right bank in October 1992 and while the water was filling up the reservoir, a massive water leakage which was unexpected had occurred about 250 m downstream of the dam due to some weak subsurface soil formation (
Summary
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is the main power supplier to the national grid of Sri Lanka and controls all major functions of electricity generation, transmission and distribution in Sri Lanka. The CEB is one of the largest government owned utilities in Sri Lanka and in 2011 it had 16,192 permanent employees (CEBa, 2012). In 2012, the CEB had an installed generation capacity of 2214MW and this was almost 2/3 of the total installed capacity of the island. The total hydro power capacity of the CEB was 1357MW in 2012 (CEBb). (Moratuwa), MBA (PIM-Sri Jayawardenepura.), CEng. MIE(SL), AMSLEMA, Mechancal Engineer, Ceylon Electricity Board
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