Sri Lanka power crisis deepens, losses mount from purchasing thermal power

The daily losses, incurred by Sri Lanka's power authority, Ceylon Electricity Board due to purchasing thermal power to meet the demand, has risen to Rs. 200 million a day, the Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka has said.
The hydropower production is crippled in the country due to the prevailing drought drying up the water reservoirs and the CEB is forced to purchase power from thermal plants to meet the demand. According to the CED, the receding water levels in hydropower reservoirs have dropped hydropower generation down to 11.7 percent to 3.58 GWh and the thermal power generation has been increased up to 88.3 percent to meet the demand. The daily losses have been risen from Rs. 130 million to Rs. 200 million now, and the monthly losses amount to 6 billion rupees, the Minister has told media at a function on Monday (25). If the catchment areas don't receive rains soon, the power authority will have to increase the amount of electricity it purchases from private generators, the Minister has said. In case of a mechanical failure in the power generators, the country would have to face a severe power crisis, the CEB has warned and added that anyhow under the present conditions power cuts would be inevitable.