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PUCSL blames monetary policy for power cuts

02 Mar 2022

 
  • Chairman calls lengthening cuts ‘death blow to economy’
  • Today’s cuts 7 ½ hrs, could get longer in future
  • Says Govt. ignoring PUCSL proposals and advice
  The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) announced yesterday (1) that today’s (2) power cuts will last approximately seven-and-a-half hours.  “This is a disappointing day for the PUCSL as we have to announce an approximate seven-hour power cut. This is because we do not have the required fuel to run our power stations, which has led to the shutdown of many power stations at the moment. There is no other solution or alternative. The lack of fuel is due to the foreign exchange crisis. The PUCSL believes that this problem is centred around wrong monetary policies,” PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said yesterday, while addressing the media. Ratnayake stressed that the seven-and-a-half-hour power cut is only for today but warned that the time period of power cuts could progressively get longer, dealing a “death blow to the economy”. “During weekdays, if we do not get the required fuel stocks, we will have to go for eight-hour power cuts or even longer ones. Longer and longer power cuts are a ‘death blow to the country’s economy’. If factories find it difficult to find fuel to run their standby generators, then the impact on the economy will be extremely heavy,” he added. He urged the political hierarchy and the relevant governmental authorities to immediately provide a solution to the fuel crisis. “We know that the public and businesses – especially small and medium enterprises – are facing huge trouble because of this. We have informed the political hierarchy – verbally and in writing – on multiple occasions, of this dilemma. We have informed the Government that we need about $ 150 million for the import of fuel to the CEB for the next two months. If that is given to us, we will be able to solve this power crisis and help the people restore their daily lives to normal. We are today again urging the authorities and the political hierarchy to immediately ensure that the CEB gets sufficient fuel supplies,” said Ratnayake. The PUCSL also released a letter yesterday that they had sent to the Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Government Ministry last month, where it has instructed that all government offices turn off their air conditioners from 2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. every weekday. “None of our proposals or advice to the authorities have been taken into consideration.” The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) announced yesterday that 658 megawatts (MW) of power was unavailable from the national grid yesterday due to the lack of fuel. There were no naphtha stocks with the CEB yesterday, and they had only 716 metric tonnes (MT) of furnace oil and 650 MT of diesel. Thus, the West Coast Power Plant, the Kelanitissa Combined Cycle Power Plant, and the Kelanitissa Power Station were unavailable yesterday. Sri Lanka has been struggling with nearly five hours of daily power cuts over the past few days due to the fuel crisis. Last week, Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila admitted in Parliament that the ongoing US dollar crisis has led to a challenging situation with regard to fuel imports. The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), through the Energy Ministry, has been requesting a fuel price hike from the Government. The challenges have been aggravated since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, following which crude oil prices in the global market rose to an all-time high since 2014. However, at the special Cabinet of Ministers’ meeting on 22 February to discuss the power and energy crises, it was decided not to revise the fuel prices and for the Government to settle a payment of Rs. 80 billion to the CPC for the continuous supply of fuel. The Lanka Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC) has increased its fuel prices twice this month – the latest being for diesel by Rs. 15 per litre and for petrol by Rs. 20 per litre.  


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