No more Emergency Power supplies- Ministry to CEB

The Ministry of Power and Energy has informed the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) that no more permission will be granted for Emergency power supplies.

This decision by the Ministry is because the CEB has, to date, failed to have any strategic plan to address the critical power situation in the country.

“The only solution proposed and embraced by the CEB is to procure emergency power in power shortage situations, to meet the power deficit. The CEB is well aware that the general public of this country are not willing to continue with emergency power purchases,” stated the letter sent on the directive of Power & Energy Minister Ravi Karunanayake, which also directed that there cannot be emergency power purchases in future.

The letter pointed out that the Ministry has repeatedly directed the CEB to come up with alternative power generation options such as introducing battery storage, replacing existing gas turbines by introducing new machines by fast track modes and considering the LNG base floating power ships.

"The CEB is taking these alternatives solutions very lightly and does not show positive interest and, in that sense, did not show any sense of emergency. This will eventually force the CEB to go for emergency power procurement to meet the generation capacity deficit,” the letter added.

The move came after the Cabinet rejected a proposal by Minister Karunanayake to lease3 barge-mounted plants to provide 500MW, and appointed a Committee to study the requirement of the proposal.

Minister Karunanayake told the Sunday Times that, though he made the proposal in January this year, the Cabinet had initially decided to call for tenders, but subsequently, held back the tender and decided to appoint another committee.