Power crisis: Udaya asks govt. not to repeat GR’s blunders

Warns of 12 to 14 hour power cuts by March if preventive action is not taken now

By Rathindra Kuruwita

There could be 12-14 hour power cuts in March next year, Leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) MP and Udaya Gammanpila warned yesterday in Colombo.

“Actually, the situation could become worse than next year because we are also running out of coal. About 35 percent of electricity is generated by Norochcholai Coal Power Plant Complex. We had enough coal this year. However, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) says that there is enough coal for two more months,” he said.

January to March is the dry season in the wet zone and therefore the electricity produced through hydro power drops, he said. This is an annual occurrence, he said.

“In January 2022, there was a meeting on power cuts under the chairmanship of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. I said the dry season is upon us and that water levels of reservoirs are dropping. I said if we start a three hour power cut now, we can keep the power cuts to five hours at the height of the dry season. If we do not start now, we will have to implement 12 hour cuts in March. Only one Additional General Manager of CEB agreed with me. Most officials were silent. President Gotabaya and other ministers decided not to cut power,” he said.

Gammanpila said that this led to 12 to 13 hour power cuts in March and people were compelled to come onto the roads. Gotabaya Rajapaksa had to flee the country and the government collapsed, he said.

“The dry season will start again in a month. The situation in 2023 will be worse than 2022 because we had enough coal until July 2022. We now have coal reserves to last two months. Developed countries will start purchasing more oil and coal because of the winter. Price of oil will go up. We won’t have enough dollars. Things would be worse,” he said.Gammanpila urged the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration to listen to experts and take steps to manage demand.