The General Manager of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has requested the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) to approve power cut of about 02 – 09 hours per day, based on four assumptions, revealed Commission Chairman Janaka Rathnayake.
A mandatory power outage is due on course from January 25 to February 04.
One of the power generators at the Norochcholai Power Plant is still out of order and the CEB is confident that it will be able to generate power from January 29 onwards.
In the meantime, operations at the fuel oil and diesel run power plants have to be suspended from time to time due to the inefficient supply of fuel.
Permission has been sought for a 09 hour daily power cut on the assumption of any event were the diesel and fuel oil power plants and hydropower plants shut down at the same time.
At present the water level in the reservoirs used for power generation is very limited. As of now, the amount of electricity generated using water is less than 10 per cent of the total power grid.
Speaking to a briefing today (24), the PUCSL Chairman stated that the public is requested not to take into consideration the claims made by the trade unions regarding the dates and times of power outages. He noted that briefing on the matter is in the complete jurisdiction of the PUCSL and urged the trade unions not to mislead the public.