Sri Lankans urged to use electricity sparingly as demand spikes due to dry weather

Colombo, Feb 19 (IANS) Sri Lanka's state-owned electricity producer and distributor, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), has urged people to use electricity sparingly as demand for power has grown due to the dry weather, a senior official told the media.

CEB spokesman Noel Priyantha told the media on Sunday that electricity demand has increased by between three and four gigawatt hours in the past month, Xinhua news agency reported.

Usually, electricity consumption increases during dry periods in Sri Lanka as people use electric fans and air conditioning to keep cool, energy experts say.

Priyantha said the percentage of electricity produced by hydropower has dropped to 21 per cent in recent days due to dry weather, and 4.5 per cent of electricity is generated from solar and five per cent from wind farms.

The CEB spokesman said earlier that they are generating more than 60 per cent of the electricity using thermal power.

The cost of generating electricity using thermal power is high and this is one of the main reasons why the cost of electricity production is among the highest in Asia, Narendra De Silva, general manager of CEB, has said.