The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) say they have successfully implemented a pilot project of the country’s bulk supply consumers temporarily using their standby generators today (17).

PUCSL chairman Janaka Ratnayake said that in total around 70 megawatts in standby generators had operated between 4.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m. today. 

The PUCSL had recently stated that an uninterrupted power supply could be maintained if certain conservation initiatives proposed by the electricity regulator are followed. 

The initiatives include a programme for standby generators of bulk supply consumers to be operational for specific periods of time.

PUCSL had also proposed that all apartment buildings use their private generators for the operation of air conditioners for the period between 6.00 p.m. and 9.00 p.m., and that all public institutions decrease their daily electricity consumption by 80%.

Speaking to Ada Derana’s BIG FOCUS programme yesterday, the PUCSL chairman said that the amount of hydroelectricity added to the national grid has now dropped to 25 percent as the capacity of reservoirs associated with hydropower plants has fallen to 47 percent.

The electricity regulator has accordingly recommended reducing the hydropower generation by 50 percent, for the time being, he added.