31st March 1996

Tea, Thonda price up

By Arshad M. Hajirin

Just as tea prices were picking up in the Colombo Tea auctions, Ceylon Workers Congress leader, S. Thondaman is standing by his decision to launch the April 22-27 strike in the plantation sector.

Mr. Thondaman, a Cabinet Minister, has accused estate management companies of depriving estate workers of their right to work 25 days a month.

"Every plantation labourer worked 25 days a month which adds upto 300 days a year. But lately the companies have allowed only 15 days work, Mr. Thondaman charged.

This works to 180 days depriving the worker of 120 days of work. Added to this, they have not got their Rs. 8 per day increment, given way back in the 80s, he said.

Mr. Thondaman said the CWC has resolved to strike beginning on April 22, for 5 days seeking redress for the poor estate workers. "This is an ideal way to present their grievances, for the workers wish to cause minimal inconvenience. But if the company owners still take the workers for granted and ignore their sufferings, it could lead to serious trouble, he warned.

Mr. Thondaman said the company owners had complained that after the PA government came to office many grants had been cut. The government had accused the management companies of misappropriating government funds and subsequently these funds were discontinued.

Mr. Thondaman dismisses this reasoning of the company owners as a lame excuse for not providing the workers 25 days of work. With inflation, the cost of living has gone up. The plantation workers depend on their day's wages for their upkeep. But when they are deprived of it, you can understand how depressed they would be, he added.

The report that never saw the light

A Special Committee was appointed to recommend emergency measures to restore the energy crisis. Extracts of the report that was ignored.

Consequent to the decision of Cabinet on 07.02.96 based on a memorandum submitted by the Minister of Irrigation, Power and Energy dated 07.02.96, we were appointed as a Special Committee to take appropriate decisions to overcome the power crisis. The Minister of Irrigation, Power and Energy briefed us promptly on 06.02.96 on the functions of the Committee which were clearly defined in the Cabinet decision of 07.02.96. These functions served as guidelines to the Special Committee by way of Terms of Reference (TOR). Some of the procurements were to be made conditional to their being operational by 15.03.96.

The actions to be taken are listed under the five specific items of the TOR.

To facilitate the speedy procurement of all machinery, power plants, spare parts for power plants and any other equipment required to implement the crash program to avoid power crisis.

Under this item the following were considered:

(a) The procurement of spare parts for existing power plants and other equipment to tide over the crisis period.

On a careful review of the requirements, the CEB informed the Committee that there were no new significant procurement actions that could impact the immediate power crisis. The CEB has in the past experienced a bottleneck in procurement actions. This has been cleared by the Ministry in early January. However, the only items required under this heading were the purchase of limited number of spares to the Kelanitissa Power Station.

The Committee noted that the CEB may be restricting itself by adopting excessively rigid procurement practices in terms of meeting its requirements, by not availing itself of the opportunity of going to the manufacturers for spares and accessories. This may be a symptomatic of a more complex problem in the CEB, and the Committee is concerned that this may have contributed to the current crisis situation through not repairing the thermal generators in a timely manner. As such, the Committee will, in its detailed report, make suggestions to resolve the problem and thereby alleviate possible medium term consequences.

The repairing of the Gas turbines Nos. 4 and 5 at the Kelanitissa Power Station.

Currently only four of the six turbines are operational. Turbine Nos. 4 and 5 are decommissioned. The repair of these two turbines were held up subject to a determination on a Tender for the refurbishment of all six machines. This Tender is currently being evaluated.

Through the CEB, the Committee contacted the representative of the Manufacturer, GEC Alsthom, and requested them to provide a quotation for the repair of the machines on an urgent basis, for which they responded. This offer together with various options were discussed in detail with the Alsthom representatives and the CEB.

Very late in these discussions, two of the candidates being considered for the tender made contact with the CEB, indicating that they too were in a position to effect the urgent repairs. The Committee declined to consider these proposals on the basis that only the Manufacturer was being considered on the basis of time limitations. The repair was separate and distinct from the refurbishment program under consideration and should be delineated from the Tender as appropriate.

Gas Turbine No. 4

The quotation for replacement of the Rotor with a reconditioned rotor was acceptable to the CEB. The scope of work was also considered adequate. Components of cost from the financial proposal from the Refurbishment Tender was used to evaluate the price offered. The total cost of US $ 713,548 was approximately $ 71,308 more than the manufacturers offer in the refurbishment Tender. However, it was considered to be reasonable due to the requirement of urgent mobilization. This price was also noted to be $ 165,048 above the lowest offer for the refurbishment program.

Dismantling of this unit has already commenced. The repair is expected to be completed within 33 days. There is a possibility that about four more days can be saved. Timely action by both CEB and the Manufacturer will enable the Generator to be functioning from March 23, 1995. This is expected to provide an additional 22GWh.

Gas Turbine No. 5

Turbine No. 5 has been shut down due to anxiety over excessive vibrations. Based on a request by the Committee, the Manufacturer provided several options to repair or refurbish the machine.

Meanwhile the Committee directed the CEB to fly down an engineer from Singapore to conduct a vibration analysis. Based on the results of the analysis the CEB decided to operate the turbine initially at reduced loads and since there was no escalation of the vibration, gradually increase the load to 17.5 MW. In their technical opinion, the Gas Turbine can continue to be operated at this level, over the next three months. In the event of the vibrations increasing beyond acceptable limits yet again during the crisis period, the Committee recommends the CEB be authorised to carry out the shop balancing of the Rotor using the manufacturers quotation.

The total output of this component is expected to be 34GWh in case shop balancing is not required during the critical period.

Repair of the Diesel Generators Nos. 2 and 4 at Sapugaskanda.

The Diesel generators at Sapugaskanda are under a maintenance contract with the manufacturer. The Committee discussed with the Contractors the possibility of reactivating two of the plants that were decommissioned.

Machine No. 2

The machine was out of commission due to a crack. The Contractors undertook to repair the crack at a cost of FF 300,000 (Rs. 3.18 Million). The CEB has already completed the contracting procedures. The Machine is expected to be commissioned by 26/2/96.

The total power supplied by this during the critical period is expected to be 34GWh.

Machine No. 4

Currently the machine is out of commission. The Committee requested the Contractors to consider urgent repairs to operate the machine during the crisis period, and subsequently dove tail the contracted refurbishment program to same. Despite repeated requests by the Committee, the Contractors were not responsive to this request. Neither did the Contractor offer a cohesive case as to why this could not be done.

A cursory review of the Contract indicated that the CEB may have some flexibility in requesting the Contractor to modify the program to suit the Country's need. The Committee strongly recommends that the CEB legal counsel together with the Engineers study the issue on an urgent basis, to compel the Contractor to carry out a temporary repair of the machine, if legally and operationally feasible.

The reduction in the shut down time of the Generators from two days per week to something less.

As the foundations of the machines are damaged resulting in some movement, the Machines are currently run only five days per week, to enable measurement of such movement. Based on a request by the Committee, the Contractor undertook to change the measurement program on the short term, and stop the machines for only half a day after every five days of operation. This program has already been implemented, and is expected to increase the total power supplied during the critical period by 17GWh at no additional cost to the CEB.

To decide on purchase of Generators for the CEB to add 3OMW capacity to existing stand by Power Plant Unit

Under our directions the CEB called for quick quotations from suppliers whose names were available with the CEB and also decided to consider offers already received by the Ministry from suppliers who have shown interest. Approximately 13 suppliers were contacted by the CEB and 5 suppliers by the Ministry submitted quotations.

The CEB engineers of the Power Plant division were requested to recommend to the Committee a mix of capacities and numbers in order to ensure optimum utilisation and benefit. Their recommendation was as follows:

Capacity (KVA)	Number Recommended

1300  -  1000		08
1000  -  500		20
 500  -  300		20
 300  -  200		10
 200  -  100		30
 100  -  50		30

A total of 68 sets, which together could provide 25MW of power, at a value of Rs.150.8 was accepted. The timely implementation of the program is expected to yield 20GWh of power during the critical period, and provide power to key installations in case of power cuts.