PUCSL gives power cut update

January 25, 2022 at 4:30 PM

Power cuts will not be imposed till Thursday, the 27th of January as fuel supplies are sufficient to generate electricity, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) said today. 

The PUCSL said as the electricity sector regulator it has decided to reconsider on 27th January the proposal made by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) on power interruption. 

Issuing a statement, the Chairman of the PUCSL Janaka Ratnayake said it is observed that there are sufficient stocks of fuel to generate electricity during these three (03) days.

“The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has been asked to provide information on existing stocks of fuel and the dates on which they can be delivered to power plants. Sri Lanka is expected to receive a stock of crude oil by the end of this month and after refining the fuel will be supplied to power plants that use fossil fuels and Naphtha fuel for the generation of electricity. Also, Unit 3 of the Norochcholai power plant, which is currently undergoing renovations, is scheduled to resume power generation before the end of this month. With that, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka is confident that there will be an uninterrupted electricity supply. In addition, we (The Commission) discussed with the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka finding ways to provide the required foreign exchange for the importation of coal and other fuels. We hope the foreign exchange issue will also be resolved in the future,” Ratnayake further said.

He went on to say that the PUCSL has also recommended a number of short- and medium-term solutions to face the power crisis. 

The short-term proposals include reducing the demand for electricity through an accelerated power conservation program with the support of electricity consumers. 

In addition, steps have already been taken to make effective use of state-owned and private sector-owned generators as a medium-term solution, he said.

Ratnayake added that in Sri Lanka more than 3000 MW of capacity is owned by various state and private organizations and, a methodology will be introduced to supply power efficiently from those generators. 

Also, the possibility of connecting such generators to the national grid in the future is being studied. 

The PUCSL has also recommended installing the solar and wind power systems as soon as possible, he concluded. (NewsWire)