PUCSL rejects CEB request for scheduled power cuts till 27 Jan.

Wednesday, 26 January 2022 04:33 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Electricity sector regulator, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) yesterday announced that it has decided that there was no need for power shedding till Friday, since there is sufficient fuel to generate electricity in the next three days.

Its stance was after reconsidering a proposal made by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to shed power for 11 days from 25 January to 4 February.

“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 which uses fossil fuels and Naphtha fuel for generation of electricity.

“Also, the Unit 3 of the Norochcholai power plant, which is currently undergoing renovations, is scheduled to resume for power generation before the end of this month,” PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said yesterday.

In that context, the Commission is confident that there will be an uninterrupted electricity supply.

“We also discussed with the Central Bank Governor on 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 added.

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 the 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.

Over 3,000 MW of capacity is owned by various state and private organisations 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 to install the solar and wind power systems as soon as possible.