There will be no scheduled power cuts in the near future as per the new methodology of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), the electricity sector regulator says.

Addressing a media briefing today (Feb. 15), PUCSL’s chairman Janaka Ratnayake noted that power stations should receive fuel regularly.

However, the PUCSL had previously announced that the electricity supply will have to be interrupted daily from today in order to conserve water reservoirs and due to the lack of fuel to operate power stations.

“We took this decision based on the assumption that that fuel would be available without interruption and that generators would not malfunction.”

The PUCSL chairman said they would not be compelled to impose power cuts if there is a regular fuel supply, as well as generators that function properly.

“If a power station that generates 100 MW of electricity is out of order, we can go ahead without disrupting the power supply. However, if a power station that generates 200 MW of electricity malfunctions, we will have to impose one-hour power cuts. If it is a 300 MW power station, we are compelled to go for power cuts of one and a half hour.”

Accordingly, Mr. Ratnayake said the PUCSL would not allow daily power cuts for the next three months based on the assumption that oil is available and all power plants are functioning properly.