The existing power cuts will remain unchanged despite the resumption of full capacity operations at the Lakvijaya Power Plant in Norochcholai with the receipt of new coal shipments, according to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, CEB Chairman Nalinda Ilangakoon said the CEB was not in a position to revise the existing durations of power cuts given the need to save the rainwater accumulated at hydropower reservoirs for future use.
“It is very important to save water at hydropower reservoirs. Until the newly-proposed electricity tariff revisions come into effect, there is no ability to stop or reduce existing power cuts,” the Chairman stressed.
Elaborating further on tariffs, Ilangakoon said a tariff revision was essential for the CEB to provide uninterrupted power and avoid further losses. He said that at present the CEB was absorbing losses for each unit of power it produced despite the recent tariff revision introduced several months ago.
The CEB claims that it is continuing to make losses due to the power regulator, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), approving only part (Rs. 505 billion) of the full amount (Rs. 865 billion) that the CEB had requested as the envisioned tariff for 2023.
At present, the CEB imposes power cuts totalling two hours and 20 minutes each day – one hour during the day and one hour and 20 minutes at night.
Meanwhile, CEB Spokesman and Additional General Manager (Generation Division) Dhammika Navaratne said the water levels at reservoirs had now come down to around 73%, stressing the importance of saving water for hydropower generation.
“The CEB has decided to run ‘scenario P’ to bring power cuts to zero. However, as of now, the power cuts will continue as they are,” Navaratne added.
As per CEB statistics of Friday (6), total energy generation was 35.94 GWh, of which 15.96 GWh (44.1%) had been generated from renewables while 19.98 GWh (55.59%) had been generated from fossil fuel.
A total of 36% of the country’s electricity requirement had been generated by coal power and the hydropower contribution was around 24.8%. The thermal oil contribution was 10.5% and Independent Power Plants (IPP) contribution was 9.1%. The contributions from mini hydro, solar, and wind were at 7%, 5.5%, and 3.7% respectively, according to CEB statistics.