 14th March, 2004 Volume 10, Issue 35 |
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CEB
relying on thermal power By
Shehan Moses The
present drought in the country is causing great concern to both the Water
Board and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).
CEB
Chairman M. Zubair said the government has requested CEB not to impose any
power cuts as it would affect the economy of the country. Since only
little rain is being experienced the CEB is compelled to increase the use
of thermal power, the Chairman said. According
to Zubair at present thermal power supply amounts to 83%
while hydropower supply amounts to 17%. Zubair
says this is a major concern to the country and it costs CEB an additional
Rs. 60 million per day for the supply of power from thermal power
generators. He adds that the CEB is also discharging water from the
reservoirs to the Kelani River for water supply and irrigation purposes
due to the present water crisis in the country. He
also said if private generators are used without the use of CEB power they
would be paid Rs. 3 per unit by the CEB. General
Manager CEB D.C Wijeratne said
the board is facing a crisis after it started to discharge water from the
reservoirs to the Kelani River. He adds this is a problem since the CEB
reservoirs in the catchment areas are also receiving negligeable rain due
to the drought conditions. He said at present the CEB is generating about
19 million units from thermal power whereas a year ago the figure was
around 10 million units.
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