The rains have finally arrived and as it washes away all signs of the severe drought the island nation suffered not too long ago, it also takes away the serious concerns of our dependency on hydro power generation.

It is thus time we look at making power generation in Sri Lanka more sustainable, instead of waiting for the next drought to raise alarm bells once again.

Hydroelectricity normally accounts for around 40% of the island’s total power production, but during drought conditions that number can dip as low as 25%, according to Anura Wijayapala, Chairman, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

There is currently limited supplementary generation capacity to make up for hydro shortfalls. The CEB’s main coping strategy in these situations is to ramp up operations at the 900-megawatt (MW) Norochcholai power plant in Puttalam.  READ MORE…