Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), a Sri Lankan government-owned utility, says that the 150MW Upper Kotmale hydro power project is among several options it is considering to overcome a serious power crunch and provide an alternative to expensive thermal power.
The proposed project, located on the western slopes of the Nuwara Eliya mountain range, approximately 150km east of Colombo, draws its water from the upper reaches of the Kotmale Oya, a tributary of the Mahaveli river. Once complete, the project will add 500 GWh of electrical energy annually to the national grid.