No scheduled power cuts for next three months: PUCSL

The new methodology adopted by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) will not lead to scheduled power cuts for the next three months, PUCSL Chairman Janaka Rathnayake said.

While addressing the media, the Chairman requested the general public, state and private institutions to conserve electricity and use it cautiously by utilising personal generators.

The proposal made by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) for a power cut from this month to April was extensively reviewed by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka.

The PUCSL has issued a mandatory procedure to the CEB to deal with the crisis without any power cuts.

The CEB was directed to implement a mandatory action plan to ensure an uninterrupted power supply instead of a power cut that would cause distress to the public.

"To resolve the current crisis that has arisen, the PUCSL issued a number of measures to CEB that they should implement to reduce hydro-power generation by 50 percent from today and limit daily maximum generation to five-gigawatt hours. Accordingly, hydro-power plants generate only 5 gigawatt-hours of electricity daily. Then we can manage the amount of water available in the next three months and manage the power generation at the hydro-power plants until it rains. As a second mandatory step, CEB should take steps to make the use of generators mandatory for generator companies. If a power cut is required, the CEB should remove the wholesale consumers of generators from the national grid, taking steps to reduce the demand for 300 megawatts of electricity on the national grid by meeting the demand of about 300 megawatts, "he said.

The Chairman emphasises that the support of the public as well as private and public institutions is essential to resolve the current power crisis without any power cuts. Strict security measures can be taken to reduce power wastage and prevent power outages at this juncture, he said.

All government agencies can deactivate the air conditioners between 2.30 pm and 4.30 pm and assist in maintaining an uninterrupted power supply. The public should also contribute as much as possible through the electricity conservation programme in order to obtain a supply.

"In the future, there will be a need to go for a power cut only if more than 200 MW of capacity is available in the system. That cut is approximately one hour per day. When the capacity of the system is 300 MW, the daily power cut is about one hour and a half, and if more than 400 MW is removed from the system daily, the power cut should be about two and a half hours, daily," he said. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)

Pic by Nisal Baduge