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One-hour power cuts islandwide today

21 Feb 2022

 
  • Three-hour cuts for Southern Province
  • PUCSL Chairman refuses to speculate on rest of the week
  BY Pamodi Waravita The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) approved scheduled power cuts from today (21) on the request of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) due to inadequate electricity generation. PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake announced last night (20) that one-hour rotational power cuts will be imposed between 8.30 a.m. and 7.30 p.m. today in all areas except for the Southern Province and that three-hour power cuts will be imposed in the Southern Province between 8.30 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. Earlier yesterday, the PUCSL had said that a scheduled power cut of around one to one-and-a-half hours would likely be imposed only within the Southern Province today. Speaking to The Morning, Ratnayake said that the permission for power cuts has been granted only for today and that it is premature to comment on whether power cuts will be permitted over the rest of the week as well. According to the CEB’s situation report yesterday, the national grid faced a deficit of 563 MW as the Kelanitissa Power Station Generator 7 (and other small generators), the West Coast Power Plant, and the Sapugaskanda A and B Power Plants were unavailable yesterday due to a lack of fuel. However, the Sapugaskanda A and B Power Plants received fuel late in the day yesterday. CEB Spokesperson Andrew Navamani had told The Morning earlier in the day yesterday that if this same situation persists today as well, there could be power cuts. Sri Lanka has been amidst a power shortfall since the beginning of the year, propagated by the breakdown of Unit Three of the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant, declining water reserves for the generation of electricity through hydropower, and the shortage of fuel in the country due to the US dollar crisis. The Sunday Morning reported that the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) held consultations on the CEB’s ability to make payments and facilitated a short-term loan of Rs. 250 million from profit-making utility provider Lanka Electricity Co. (Pvt.) Ltd. (LECO) to purchase fuel from the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and that the loan will come into effect today. Last week, the PUCSL informed that an uninterrupted power supply is possible if, as they have directed, certain conservation initiatives are followed, and turned down a request from the CEB to initiate a three-month-long power cut schedule. However, last Friday (18), the PUCSL announced scheduled power outages for the day. Last Saturday (19), Ratnayake reportedly said that while there were no scheduled power outages for the day, “intermittent interruptions” could occur to stabilise the national grid.


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