Fuel issue: New update from CEB & Minister Gammanpila

January 13, 2022 at 5:39 PM

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has announced that further power interruptions may be experienced in the country.

CEB Additional General Manager and media spokesman Andrew Navamani said power supply may be disrupted due to the inadequate supply of diesel by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) to the Kelanitissa Power Station.

Navamani said the CEB currently has 300 MW of power on the national grid following the repair of the generator that broke down in the Norochcholai Power Plant.

He warned that if the CPC is unable to provide the required diesel in due time, then the CEB will not be able to provide an uninterrupted power supply.

The CEB Additional General Manager and media spokesman said, as a result, further power cuts will be experienced across the country.

Meanwhile, Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila has stated that the possible shortage of fuel that was reported earlier has been mitigated to a certain extent.

He told reporters today that Sri Lanka will be able to unload the necessary fuel for the next 14-days. 

A fuel shortage had been reported this month as Sri Lanka was unable to open Letters of Credit to unload fuel from three ships that are docked at the Colombo Port. 

However, as measures have been taken to issue the necessary Letters of Credit by this evening, the fuel shortage has been addressed to a certain extent, he said. 

Minister Gammnapila said that one vessel contains 37,000 MT of petrol and the two other vessels contain 70,000 MT of Diesel each. 

He further said that with the unloading of the necessary fuel, Sri Lanka will have petrol sufficient for the next 12 days and diesel for the next 14 days. (NewsWire)