By Maheesha Mudugamuwa
The threat of more power cuts looms with hydro-catchment areas failing to receive sufficient rain over the past several weeks and adequate steps not yet been taken to address the power crisis.
The JVP-affiliated Ceylon Electricity Board Employees Union (CEBEU) yesterday warned that there was an increased possibility of implementing power cuts again from Monday (22) as the Power and Energy Ministry failed to find a solution to the power crisis during the New Year holidays.
CEBEU General Secretary Ranjan Jayalal told The Sunday Morning that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) failed to connect the already purchased 100 MW of supplementary power to the nearby grids during last week and as result, the generation was still in the predicament it was in on 12 April.
“Therefore, if the situation continues like this in the coming days, the CEB will have to implement power cuts as the demand will increase after Monday (22) with the opening of all companies and factories closed down for New Year,” Jayalal stressed.
Meanwhile, the CEB engineers have also warned that the generation was not up to the expected levels and therefore, at the moment, power cuts would have to be re-implemented.
The water levels of the hydropower reservoirs were also not sufficient to generate hydropower and therefore, the system would depend on thermal power, they alleged.
Earlier, the Ministry had planned to generate hydropower from the water released by the Mahaweli Reservoir for the purpose of irrigation, but that had also not yet been implemented, the engineers explained.
Since there was some relief with the rains received during the last two weeks, there will be a small reduction of the frequency of the power cuts, even if the CEB was forced to implement them, the engineers noted.
When contacted, Power and Renewable Energy Ministry Director (Planning) Sulakshana Jayawardene said the Ministry had not yet taken a decision to implement power cuts from Monday (22).
He said that the power demand had to be observed and the Ministry couldn’t forecast the demand as it depended on the weather conditions in the country. “We have signed the agreement to purchase 100 MW of supplementary power and they are in the process of bringing and installing the generators. Once it is completed it could also be added to the national grid. We have already added Ace Power Matara and Asia Power Sapugaskanda and are currently operating at full capacity,” he added.
However, the reservoir water capacity was at 31.3%. Even though there is a slight increase in the capacity, it was not enough to generate more hydropower, Jayawardene said.
The threat of more power cuts looms with hydro-catchment areas failing to receive sufficient rain over the past several weeks and adequate steps not yet been taken to address the power crisis.
The JVP-affiliated Ceylon Electricity Board Employees Union (CEBEU) yesterday warned that there was an increased possibility of implementing power cuts again from Monday (22) as the Power and Energy Ministry failed to find a solution to the power crisis during the New Year holidays.
CEBEU General Secretary Ranjan Jayalal told The Sunday Morning that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) failed to connect the already purchased 100 MW of supplementary power to the nearby grids during last week and as result, the generation was still in the predicament it was in on 12 April.
“Therefore, if the situation continues like this in the coming days, the CEB will have to implement power cuts as the demand will increase after Monday (22) with the opening of all companies and factories closed down for New Year,” Jayalal stressed.
Meanwhile, the CEB engineers have also warned that the generation was not up to the expected levels and therefore, at the moment, power cuts would have to be re-implemented.
The water levels of the hydropower reservoirs were also not sufficient to generate hydropower and therefore, the system would depend on thermal power, they alleged.
Earlier, the Ministry had planned to generate hydropower from the water released by the Mahaweli Reservoir for the purpose of irrigation, but that had also not yet been implemented, the engineers explained.
Since there was some relief with the rains received during the last two weeks, there will be a small reduction of the frequency of the power cuts, even if the CEB was forced to implement them, the engineers noted.
When contacted, Power and Renewable Energy Ministry Director (Planning) Sulakshana Jayawardene said the Ministry had not yet taken a decision to implement power cuts from Monday (22).
He said that the power demand had to be observed and the Ministry couldn’t forecast the demand as it depended on the weather conditions in the country. “We have signed the agreement to purchase 100 MW of supplementary power and they are in the process of bringing and installing the generators. Once it is completed it could also be added to the national grid. We have already added Ace Power Matara and Asia Power Sapugaskanda and are currently operating at full capacity,” he added.
However, the reservoir water capacity was at 31.3%. Even though there is a slight increase in the capacity, it was not enough to generate more hydropower, Jayawardene said.