Power cut misery can drag on for months; if rains fail it will worsen

By Ifham Nizam

Power cuts could go on for more than seven months and if the country did not get sufficient rains by May, the situation would be disastrous, especially in the Southern part of the country, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) officials said yesterday.

“We are having a shortage of between 400MW and 500MW on a daily basis,” an official said, adding that meeting the shortfall was not easy. Though coal stocks were available for the moment, new shipments had not been added to the stocks and it should be done before the seas got rough.

The CEB announced a five-hour power cut in 12 zones from ‘A’ to ‘L’ today (22) due to a shortage of fuel for power generation.

The CEB said that power cuts would be imposed in eight zones, from ‘P’ to ‘W’, for three hours and 40 minutes tomorrow.

An official said that power cuts would be imposed in 12 zones ‘A’ to ‘L’, between 8.00 am and 6.00 pm for three hours and 20 minutes, during the day and between 6.00 pm and 11.00 pm for 40 minutes.

He said that the eight zones, from ‘P’ to ‘W’ would experience power cuts between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm, for two hours and 40 minutes, during the day, and for one hour, between 5.00 pm and 9.00 pm.