PUCSL to develop a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan

Thursday, 26 April 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Charumini de Silva

Considering the natural calamities and interruptions it caused to power services, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) said, yesterday, that it was in the process of preparing a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan for the utilities sector with the consultation of other relevant organisations.

It was also pointed out that the Commission was exploring the possibility of utilising over 130 MWs of standby power generators idling at Government institutions to support the National grid in emergencies or natural disasters.

“A survey in Government organisations has found generators with capacities of around 1 MW, which can be used in emergencies. It can be a natural calamity or any other situation. We are trying to get these online as soon as possible, and that possibility is now being explored and we will advise the Government accordingly,” PUCSL Director General Damitha Kumarasinghe told journalists in Colombo yesterday.

He said that the Commission has already discussed with grid operator Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), and other Government institutions such as the Ports Authority and Bank of Ceylon which own the generators.

“These generators are all synchronised. What we are trying to do is to keep them available for an emergency, in case of transmission distribution constraints or for use during night peak. We are not expecting 24x7 power supply, but perhaps 100 MW for about three to four hours in an emergency. The CEB has already agreed to support,” he added.

Highlighting that the Government has already invested heavily on these internal generators, he added that it would be a crime not to use them in an emergency situation.

The PUCSL expects to submit the proposed flexible system to the Government next week, seeking Cabinet approval for the usage of the State-owned generators in emergency situations.

Kumarasinghe said existing schemes such as ‘self-generation’, where generator owners were paid to use them in times of supply crises, left the option of starting them or not. However, under the proposed scheme, generator owners would fire them up and export power to the national grid in emergencies.

According to him, generator owners could supply power at fuel cost with a little margin, but at much lower capacity charges than is usually paid for emergency power.