Maheesha Mudugamuwa
Minister of Power, Energy, and Business Development Ravi Karunanayake yesterday assured that there would be no more power cuts as the Government had taken steps to fill the existing capacity shortage of 300 MW.
He told The Sunday Morning that the policy had already been approved by Cabinet on 23 April and as a result, the Government had purchased 200 MW and the rest would be purchased after a discussion with the officials of the Mahaweli Authority, Irrigation Department, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), and Meteorology Department tomorrow (Monday).
The CEB had imposed power cuts for up to four hours per day during the end of last month and the beginning of this month due to the capacity shortage as a result of the delay in the construction of much-needed power plants to meet the increased power demand of the country, in addition to which, hydropower generation drastically reduced during last few months due to the drought that prevailed.
According to the CEB, during this period, due to the extreme heat and humidity, peak hour electricity demand during the day and night increased to around 1,700 MW and 2,600 MW, respectively.
However, the Government stopped imposing power cuts on 11 April, and noticed a reduction in the demand for power during the New Year holidays. The CEB engineers were expecting the re-imposition of the power cuts in the event the Government failed to purchase supplementary power, or if there were inadequate rains in the hydropower catchment areas.
Minister of Power, Energy, and Business Development Ravi Karunanayake yesterday assured that there would be no more power cuts as the Government had taken steps to fill the existing capacity shortage of 300 MW.
He told The Sunday Morning that the policy had already been approved by Cabinet on 23 April and as a result, the Government had purchased 200 MW and the rest would be purchased after a discussion with the officials of the Mahaweli Authority, Irrigation Department, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), and Meteorology Department tomorrow (Monday).
The CEB had imposed power cuts for up to four hours per day during the end of last month and the beginning of this month due to the capacity shortage as a result of the delay in the construction of much-needed power plants to meet the increased power demand of the country, in addition to which, hydropower generation drastically reduced during last few months due to the drought that prevailed.
According to the CEB, during this period, due to the extreme heat and humidity, peak hour electricity demand during the day and night increased to around 1,700 MW and 2,600 MW, respectively.
However, the Government stopped imposing power cuts on 11 April, and noticed a reduction in the demand for power during the New Year holidays. The CEB engineers were expecting the re-imposition of the power cuts in the event the Government failed to purchase supplementary power, or if there were inadequate rains in the hydropower catchment areas.