(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – The Ministry of Power has decided to purchase electricity from private power plants. However, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has to obtain permission from the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) to purchase electricity from private power plants.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Power has requested permission from the Public Utilities Commission to purchase electricity from private power plants, said Minister of Power Gamini Lokuge.
Minister Lokuge said a proposal will be submitted to the Cabinet tomorrow to implement a program to obtain electricity from private power plants on a short term basis.
Minister Gamini Lokuge said meanwhile, the Ceylon Electricity Board will be able to purchase the fuel required for power generation directly through Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC) next week.
Meanwhile, the CEB says that the generator at the Norochcholai power plant, which broke down on December 3, will be restored today, but it has not been restored yet.
However, the CEB further states that the relevant generator will be restored as soon as possible to supply 300 megawatts of electricity to the country’s electricity grid.
By now, the generator has been almost restored and engineers at the Norochcholai power plant say it will be able to supply power to the national grid in a short period of time.
The CEB on two previous occasions had requested the PUCSL to allow a power cut. However, the Commission decided not to allow the power cut until tomorrow. The Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to meet again tomorrow to review the situation.
Meanwhile, Minister Dinesh Gunawardena states that he has made a request regarding the maintenance of electricity without any cuts during the forthcoming GCE Advanced Level examination period.
