• The power generation will drop by up to 5% in the next two months due to lack of rainfall in the hydro catchment areas

By Chaturanga Samarawickrama   

No matter how much fuel we get, in another two or three months, the water level in the reservoirs will continue to drop drastically. Therefore, we will have to go for power cuts, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Engineers’ Union said.    

Addressing the media, CEBEU President Saumya Kumarawadu said that hydro power plants currently generate 20% of the total power. “A few months ago, hydro power generation was at 70%. Later it dropped to 60%, then 50%, and now stands at 37%, a few days ago.   
“The power generation will drop by up to 5% in the next two months due to lack of rainfall in the hydro catchment areas,” Kumarawadu said.   

According to the meteorology department, the country will have rain after May this year. Therefore, we may have to go for power cuts irrespective of the availability of fuel, he said.   

“We are in a critical situation due to consecutive government’s failing to construct any additional power stations after 2014. If the controversial Sampur coal power plant project, funded by India, had not been cancelled in 2015, 500 MW of power would have been added to the national grid easily by 2020. The previous government should be held responsible for that failure,” Kumarawadu said.   

He said if 500MW of electricity was available from the Sampur coal power plant, we would have no issue of power cuts, we could have managed even without furnace oil for the Kelanitissa Combined Cycle Power Plant Project, he said.