10-hour Powercut Today
Shakila Ifham
March 30, 2022
Electricity sector regulator, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) endorsed the Ceylon Electricity Board’s request for 10-hour power cuts countrywide from Wednesday (March 30).
It is understood that earlier CEB was planning to go for eight- hour power cuts on a routine basis.
According to CEB Spokesman Andrew Navamani, CEB had sought to increase the duration of power cuts to 10 hours due to the shortage of fuel for some 750MW to cater thermal power.
Areas listed under the following groups will experience power interruptions of 10 hours as mentioned below:
• Areas A, B, C, D, E, and F – Ten hours from 2.00 pm to 12.00 am
• Areas G, H, I, J, K, and L – Six hours from 8.00 am to 2.00 pm / Four hours from 6.00 pm to 10.00 pm
• Areas P, Q, R, and S – Ten hours from 2.00 pm to 12.00 am
• Areas T, U, V, and W – Six hours from 8.00 am to 2.00 pm / Four hours from 6.00 pm to 10.00 pm
• Areas M, N, O, X, Y, and Z (feeders supplying to industrial zones) – Ten hours from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Power said that hydro power generation will be further hampered due to the low water level in the reservoirs of the CEB.
Currently, the water level in the reservoirs used to generate electricity is rapidly declining due to the severe dry weather conditions that have affected countrywide.
The water level of Castlereagh Reservoir has dropped to 15.34 meters from the overflow level and the maximum water level can be lowered only up to 19.0 meters above the overflow level. The remaining units of water that can be generated from this remaining volume of water is 07.3 Gigawatt hours, which is 07.7% of the total capacity of Castlereagh Reservoir.
Maussakelle Reservoir water level has dropped to 13.69 m from the overflow level and the maximum water level can be lowered only up to 22.4 m above the overflow level. Accordingly, it can generate 77.7 Gigawatt hours of electricity from the water volume of Maussakale Reservoir which is 27.4% of the total capacity.
The water level of Samanala Wewa Reservoir has dropped to 25.20 m from the overflow level and the maximum water level in the reservoir can be lowered only up to 31 m from the overflow level.
Accordingly, the water volume of the Samanala Wewa reservoir can generate 15.2 Gigawatt units of electricity which is 11.4% of the total capacity. Also, the current water levels in the main reservoirs of the Mahaweli complex to generate electricity are as follows.
The water level of Kotmale Reservoir has dropped to 24.97 m from the overflow level and the maximum water level in the reservoir can be lowered only up to 38 m from the overflow level. Accordingly, the water volume of the Kotmale Reservoir can generate 29.0 gigawatt hours of electricity and it is 20.3% of the total capacity.
Victoria Reservoir water level has dropped to 27.49 meters above the overflow level and the maximum water level in the reservoir can be lowered only up to 68 meters from the overflow level. Accordingly, the water volume of Victoria Reservoir can generate 133.3 Gigawatt hours of electricity with a total capacity of 30.1.
The Ministry said water from these Mahaweli reservoirs to generate hydro power from the above reservoirs should also be restricted as the country’s drinking water requirement and agricultural activities should be given priority as well.
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