News
CEB in blackout crisis
A severe financial crisis caused by drought and inadequate low-cost power generation options has forced the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to introduce contingency measures, including the expediting of revenue collection from ministries, departments and other public institutions.
Internal accounts show that the CEB made a loss of Rs. 8 billion in January alone. The losses went up marginally in February to Rs. 8.4 billion and decreased to Rs. 7.9 billion in March. The difference is made up by subtracting the CEB’s total cost from its total revenue each month. “I would like to draw your attention to the present power situation,” wrote CEB General Manager W.J.L.S. Fernando to senior CEB managers on March 18. “Due to unavailability of adequate low cost generation options coupled with the present drought situation, we are compelled to use expensive thermal generation.”
“This situation has caused us to find more liquidity fund [sic] to address the problem,” he states. “It is important to provide uninterrupted power supply to the consumers.” A copy of the letter was obtained by the Sunday Times. Among the measures proposed in to address the crisis is an acceleration of the revenue collection process with special attention to receivables from government ministries, departments and other public enterprises.
Mr. Fernando has also instructed managers to implement “strict credit control policies” and to “take maximum credit period from suppliers.” He warns them to limit miscellaneous capital expenditure until the situation returns to normal and to strictly adhere to the monthly payment programme prepared by the CEB’s finance department.
The latest CEB generation statistics recorded on Friday show that only 15.3 per cent of the country’s electricity needs is now generated by hydroelectric power stations. A massive 84 per cent of power is generated by thermal power stations, with coal power accounting for 18 per cent of this figure while wind is just 0.7%.
According to CEB accounts, the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant in Norochcholai cost the utility Rs. 246 million in January and Rs. 717 million in February. For much of those two months, the plant was either shut down for repairs or experiencing problems. In March, the CEB spent Rs. 1 .6 billion on Lakvijaya. The plant has been functioning for the past few weeks.