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Power cuts for two more years, at least three hours until Dec.

28 Jun 2022

  • PUCSL Chair says only three-hour power cuts until December if fuel supply to CEB steady
The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) said yesterday (27) that power cuts will continue for at least two more years, but that they can be limited to three hours per day until December of this year if the fuel supply to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is maintained.  Speaking at a media briefing held yesterday, PUCSL Chairman Janaka Rathnayake said that the CEB cannot be certain of how electricity is generated in the immediate future as the “political authority” has informed them about the fuel crisis.  “The average water level at reservoirs is at 57% now, which allows the CEB to generate about 15 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity using hydropower. However, the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant (Norochcholai) closed down for maintenance earlier this month and will be inactive for the next 60 days. This loss is currently fulfilled by thermal power plants, using fuel,” said Rathnayake. “We currently have enough fuel stocks to maintain power cuts at three hours for next week as well. We have been informed that we can get 20,000 metric tonnes (MT) of furnace oil from the most recent shipment, which will allow us to go for the next 30 days too. Soon after that, Norochcholai will be back up, so we hope to manage. If we receive fuel, we can maintain these power cuts at three hours per day until December.”  Commenting further on Norochcholai, Rathnayake reiterated that $ 610 million is needed for coal imports in September for the power plant’s requirements for 2023, warning that if this is not received, the “base power of the national grid – 840 megawatts (MW)” will not be operational.  Furthermore, he noted that power outages will continue for at least the next two years, thus, stressing the need to obtain alternative renewable energy sources for power generation.  “It is either that or finding dollars to bring in fuel for the thermal power plants,” he stated.  The Sri Lankan public has faced power outages as lengthy as 13 hours per day this year as thermal power plants routinely shut down due to severe fuel shortages. Fuel shortages continue to grip the country as foreign exchange reserves remain at historic lows, thus hampering fuel imports. Officials have stated that about $ 100 million is spent monthly, specifically for fuel imports for thermal power plants (about $ 550 million is spent in total per month for fuel imports).

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