COLOMBO (News 1st); When God gives rainfall and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation gives fuel, electricity will be supplied, says the Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), M.M.C.
Ferdinando.Speaking at a press conference today (31), the CEB Chairman stated that when the country receives a diesel ship, the power plants can be soon activated, which will reduce the duration of power cuts.
A heated situation also arose when a journalist proceeded to question the Minister of Power, Pavithra Wannaarachchi with regard to the plan of the Government in the near future regarding the power crisis, to which the Minister responded saying she does not know when it will rain.However, the journalist responded, saying that if he wanted to know of the next time when it will rain, he would inquire the Meteorology Department, and not the Minister, she still proceeded to say that she has no knowledge of the next time when it will rain, and alleged that just because there is no power, the media should not attempt to strike fear into the general public with regard to the matter.What really is the status of the power sector in Sri Lanka?The CEB Chairman M.M.C.
Fedinando stated that Sri Lanka’s hydro electricity generation has dropped, and while Sri Lanka has power plants of a capacity of over 1100 megawatts that run on fuel, the CEB does not have fuel for them, and only get diesel and furnace oil intermittently.“We cannot generate more than 300 megawatts from our hydro power plants.