Grace period for electricity bill payments extended until 30 April

The Power and Energy Ministry yesterday announced that the grace period for electricity bill payments had been extended until 30 April, to ensure electricity supply to consumers was not disconnected during this time. A statement issued by the Ministry stated that Power and Energy Minister Mahinda Amaraweera had advised the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to avoid disrupting the supply of power to households, even if they had not made bill payments since February.

According to the CEB website, of the power generated yesterday, 56.9% is from thermal coal, 26.57% is from thermal oil, and 15.46% is from hydro, and the statement explained that private sector power generation had been completely halted. This is because there has been a 30% reduction in daily consumption in the country and there is thus no need as of yet to make any emergency power purchases.

The statement also added that the Lakvijaya Power Station had coal to generate power until November and that once construction of the fourth phase is completed, a capacity of 300 MW would be added to the system.