Monday Dec 23, 2024
Monday Dec 23, 2024
Monday, 14 February 2022 04:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) yesterday said the decision on future power curtailment mechanism will be announced tomorrow after considering the current water levels of the reservoirs.
Electricity regulator PUCSL held a meeting on Saturday with officials of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Lanka Electricity Company Ltd. on managing the power demand in the next few months.
“The mechanisms to go about with the load shedding request of the CEB will be taken after analysing the data on Tuesday. We will definitely take a stock of all reservoir water levels before we make a decision,” PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake told the Daily FT.
The CEB last week requested the PUCSL again on scheduled power cuts for the months of February, March and April and a decision on this is pending.
He also warned that the Commission will be compelled to allow the CEB for load shedding, if the public do not support power conservation efforts of the Government.
“Observing the data, we have noticed that over 47 GWh has been consumed by the public during last week, where the total demand was over 2,700 MWs. Although we thought the situation could be managed without scheduled power cuts, it seems like that chance is moving out of hand,” he said.
However, during the weekend heavy rains of about 100 mm were experienced from most parts of the country, giving hope for the authorities and the electricity consumers.
“If we get sufficient rain, there is a chance to avoid scheduled load shedding. It is every citizen’s responsibility to preserve energy given the current situation. Managing hydro power generation is therefore critical,” he explained.
The PUCSL Chief said if all efforts fail to continue with uninterrupted service, the Commission will try its level best to curtail power with minimum impact to the electricity consumer.
On Friday, Ratnayake said water levels were depleting on a daily basis and it has now fallen below 50%.
As of Friday, he said all the water available could now generate around 60 GWh. “We are in dire need to manage the water for the next three months. It is necessary to reduce the current capacity of 12 GWh power generation to 5 GWh in order to use the remaining water in reservoirs over the next few months. Otherwise, we will be compelled to allow CEB to load shedding,” he said on Friday.
Noting that the high electricity demand would have been due to the warm weather conditions, he urged the consumers to use electricity sparingly. “We have to bring down the current 47GWh demand by 7 GWh and it is achievable if everyone responsibly uses the power supply,” he expressed optimism.
Ratnayake said the Commission has also directed the Road Development Authority (RDA) and Local Government Institutions to reduce power consumption. “There are 500,000 street lamps and to supply power it takes 50 MWs. We have also requested the Local Government Institutions to switch off the lights of the billboards and hoardings as they consume a lot of electricity. Given the dire situation, we need to conserve all our resources as much as possible,” he pointed out.
With no new plants, sufficient water levels, and renewable energy sources amidst a foreign exchange crisis, the Government is grappling to cater to the increased power demand now.
