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No need for private power purchases, PUCSL tells CEB

16 Feb 2022

 BY Pamodi Waravita  The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) said yesterday (15) that it has informed the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) that it believes that there is no necessity for emergency purchases of power from private power stations in the immediate future.  “We informed the CEB in writing today (15) that while public support and support from the private sector is needed in order to avoid scheduled daily power cuts in the next three months, we believe that there is no need to purchase emergency power from private power stations,” PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said at a press conference held yesterday.  The PUCSL informed yesterday that an uninterrupted power supply is possible if, as they have directed, certain conservation initiatives are followed. The initiatives include that standby generators of bulk supply consumers be operational for specific periods of time, that all apartment buildings use their private generators for the operation of air conditioners between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., and that all public institutions decrease their daily electricity consumption by 80%. However, a cabinet paper was presented by Power Minister Gamini Lokuge earlier this month, seeking the approval for the purchase of emergency power from two private power plants (100 megawatts [MW] from one Ace Power Plant, and 20 MW from another Ace Power Plant) – and for the agreements to be signed for a period of three years. This was turned down by the Cabinet of Ministers, after which it has instructed the CEB to renegotiate the conditions of the agreements for a shorter period of time – only when the purchase of power is absolutely necessary. The Power Ministry told The Morning last week that the PUCSL has green-lit these initial negotiations.  Meanwhile, the PUCSL yesterday also turned down a request by the CEB to schedule daily power cuts for the next three months, stating that subject to the aforementioned conservation scheme, this is not necessary.  The Electricity Users’ Association yesterday accused the CEB of attempting to purchase emergency power, stating the latter as the real reason behind the requests for scheduled daily power cuts. “We urge the PUCSL to reject these requests by the CEB,” said the association.  Lokuge has also earlier alleged that “certain parties” wanted the Government to sign private power purchasing agreements, in order to acquire power at a higher cost.


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