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Power cuts breach 10-hour mark on ‘sad day’

30 Mar 2022

 
  • PUCSL Chair says CEB request was for 12 hours
  • Calls it a ‘sad day’ and ‘highest point of power crisis’
  For the first time in its modern history, Sri Lankan electricity consumers will face 10-hour-long power outages today (30), with the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) permitting the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to impose such, with its Chairman terming it “a sad day”. “This is a sad day. We have reached the highest point of the electricity crisis. The CEB had requested permission to impose 12-hour power cuts. However, with great effort, we managed to secure a limited fuel reserve to minimise the duration of the power cuts. Therefore, we can operate one power station tomorrow. However, the prevailing situation is not promising,” PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said while addressing a media briefing, adding that the PUCSL had reluctantly granted permission to impose 10-hour power cuts. A series of issues have plagued the country’s energy-related sector since the beginning of the year. Since January 2022, the CEB has been struggling to find fuel for its thermal power stations, as the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), which imports fuel, has been throttled by the foreign exchange shortage in the country. Over the past few weeks, the Sri Lankan public has been forced to endure lengthy power cuts lasting hours per day following routine shutdowns of the thermal power stations. Meanwhile, the Power Ministry warned yesterday (29) that due to the extremely dry weather that has hit the country, the water levels in dams that are used to generate electricity through hydropower stations are steadily declining, following similar concerns they raised earlier this month on the matter. In a press release issued in this regard yesterday, the ministry said that the Castlereigh Dam’s water level has decreased to 19 metres (m) below its spill point which allows it to only generate 07.3 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity. This amount was approximately 15 GWh last week. The Maussakele Reservoir’s water level has decreased to 12.84 m below its spill point and can only produce 87.7 GWh of electricity. Furthermore, the Samanalawewa Reservoir’s water level has decreased to 22.40 m below its spill point and can only produce 77.7 GWh of electricity. Commenting on the main reservoirs connected to the Mahaweli Development Project, the ministry said that the Kotmale Dam’s water level has decreased to 24.97 m below its spill point and can only produce 29 GWh of electricity. The Victoria Dam’s water level has decreased to 27.49 m below its spill point and can only produce 133.3 GWh of electricity. The water level of the Victoria Dam can only be reduced to 68 m below its spill point. The Randenigala Dam’s water level has decreased to 8.48 m below its spill point and can only produce 60.5 GWh of electricity.


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