By Ifham Nizam
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) top management yesterday assured that they would do their utmost to avoid any blackouts by ensureing that there would be enough coal stocks in the country.
Responding to Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union (CEBEU) claim that there would be a fuel shortage, CEB Chairman Nalinda Illangakoon told The Island that the country needed about 33 shipments of coal and arrangements had been made for the import of 21 of them and action would be taken to bring the rest expeditiously.
The CEB engineers warned that if coal was not procured in an orderly manner, the country would experience unprecedented power cuts come April 2023.
CEBEU Chairman Nihal Weeraratne told journalists that Sri Lanka needed about 38 coal shipments from 15 September 2022 to April 2023.
“However, only four shipments have arrived so far, and the fifth one was delayed. If all these shipments do not reach the country by 15 April 2023, power outages will have to be extended,” he said, adding that the delay in procuring coal would lead to dark July for Sri Lanka.
Weeraratne said the requests made to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) were pending approval, and the current power cut now was limited to two hours.
He also said that it was not possible to bring in sufficient coal to generate electricity at the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant (NCPP) for the whole year due to rough seas after April.