CEB to buy 200MW of emergency power

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), in keeping with a government decision yesterday, decided to call for proposals to buy 200MW of emergency power with immediate effect.

CEB General Manager Rohantha Abeysekera said the need to buy emergency power had arisen and the CEB would do it based on approval granted by the Public Utilities Commissions of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) and the Cabinet.

CEB sources pointed out that the move would be costly as even if the power plants ran or not high- capacity charges would have to be paid to buy emergency power.

Although the CEB had emphasised the need for scheduled power cuts from January,

the PUCSL had continuously rejected the move, thus triggering a massive crisis, they said.

Although the CEB generally buys emergency power for shortterm like 3- 6 months, the Government has decided to obtain 200MW of emergency power on medium- term basis and this would add to the CEB's losses, the sources said.

As a result of the drought that has to be faced every year from

January to May, the CEB's former Additional General Manager Janaka Aluthge had prepared plans to buy power at a low cost from three retired private diesel power plants, from December- January 2021. However Cabinet approval was not granted for that.

According to the plan, a unit of power was scheduled to have been bought from ACE Power Embilipitiya for Rs. 20.93, from Asia Power for Rs. 21.25 and from ACE Power Matara for Rs. 21.40.