The ongoing three-hour-long power cuts are to continue despite 300 MW of unit 1 of the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant being reconnected to the national grid on Friday (26).The cuts will continue as the country cannot afford diesel-powered electricity generation, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Chairman N.S. Ilangakoon said yesterday (27).The grid was reconnected following a major breakdown a week earlier.Contradicting a statement by CEB Media Spokesman Additional General Manager Andrew Nawamuni as reported by The Sunday Morning last week, the Chairman reiterated that the CEB had imposed the three-hour-long power cuts due to the unavailability of diesel-powered power plants resulting from the fuel shortage.Over the last eight months, Sri Lanka has been struggling to source fuel for power generation, transport, and industry due to a critical forex shortage.Following the repairs, unit 1 of the Norochcholai Power Plant was connected to the national grid on Friday (26), adding 300 MW, according to the CEB.The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) had written to the CEB to reduce the load shedding period following the repair of unit 1.Last week, Nawamuni confirmed that there was no additional cost to generate electricity to meet the shortage of nearly 300 MW arising following the breakdown of unit 1 of Lakvijaya Power Plant (LVPP) in Norochcholai given the three-hour power cuts.He further said there was no additional diesel power-generated electricity added to the national grid to meet the shortage arising from the breakdown.Noting that the power cuts had been imposed not only because of the Norochcholai breakdown but also because of the existing generation shortage, Ilangakoon said they were currently managing the existing resources while imposing power cuts so that the CEB would be able to provide electricity in the coming months, even during the expected dry season early next year.“We are using hydro now, but we have decided to save water resources as well because of the expected dry season early next year,” he stressed.In the meantime, the Chairman confirmed that unit 2 maintenance work was still ongoing and that it would be added to the grid towards the end of October. According to CEB statistics, 54% of the country’s energy requirement had been fulfilled by hydropower as of Friday (26), with a thermal coal contribution of around 19%. Electricity generated using thermal oil had only amounted to around 18%.– By Maheesha Mudugamuwa
