Exemption of Colombo city from power cuts raises many eyebrows

By Ifham Nizam

The exemption of the Colombo City from power cuts and thereby awarding it privileged status has raised many eyebrows.

The CEB has a list of ‘priority feeders’ (meaning 33 kV lines supplying power to vital installations such as hospitals, water pumping stations, and Board of Investment (BOI) zones) exempted from load shedding.

These priority feeders are identified by respective area engineers in consultation with their provincial heads, the Deputy General Managers (DGMs). All remaining 33 kV feeders (non-priority) are included in the load shedding programme (demand management schedule), a senior official said.

However, the CEB’s Colombo City management has refused to give consent to load shedding, identifying the entire Colombo City area as a priority zone. This move is unprecedented since, in the past, Colombo City, too, faced power cuts. A senior Electrical Engineer said Colombo city had the largest power demand both in the day peak and night peak periods.

Despite many appeals by the authorities to reduce electricity use, there has not been any noticeable reduction in electricity consumption in the Colombo City, a CEB official said.

The distribution system of the CEB includes approximately 430 33 kV feeders, out of which around 190 have been identified as priority feeders. These priority feeders including the entire Colombo City, have a combined demand of around 1,100 MW that needs to be supplied from available generation.