4-hour power cuts in the offing, CEB union warns

Sri Lankans are to face a 4-hour power cut daily as a result of fuel scarcity and the drop in water level of hydro power reservoirs in the country, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Engineers Union warned on Monday.

The CEB currently possessed 3000 metric tones of diesel sufficient for two or three days to generate electricity and furnace oil is adequate for 22 days to run generators, President of the CEB Engineers Union Saumya Kumarawadu told the Times Online.  

Accordingly the CEB will be compelled to reduce the power demand by enforcing power cuts for longer hours after three days to maintain the balance in the grid system, he divulged.

Hydro power generation will also have to be curtailed as the hydro reservoir water is being managed for irrigation purposes for agriculture, for drinking and environmental conservation activities, he added.

However Power Minister Gamini Lokuge noted there will be no power cuts until Tuesday January 18 as the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has agreed to supply 3,000 metric tons of furnace oil to the CEB.

It has already received 3,000 metric tons of fuel for the Kelanitissa power plant; he said adding that the ministry will hold discussions with the CPC to obtain furnace oil sufficient till Saturday January 22. 

He disclosed that in the wake of the shutdown of a generator at the Norochcholai power plant, the national grid has lost 300 megawatts affecting the uninterrupted power and the problem has worsened due to an unexpected technical fault at the Kelanitissa power station.

Minister Lokuge said hydro power generation has also been affected due to the drop in water level at hydro power reservoirs after allocating the required capacity for irrigation and drinking water and also around 35 per cent of the overall capacity of the reservoirs has been set apart for power generation.

The CPC is to deliver urgently required 1,500 MT of diesel to the CEB daily enabling it to operate its generators and avoid enforcing power cuts.

However the CEB will have to provide US dollars to the CPC if it requires fuel continuously, Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila said.

“In the wake of the prevailing dollar crisis in the country, the CPC had to face severe difficulties to find $400 million every month, for the supply of fuel stocks required for transportation and other industries,” he added. (Bandula)