ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka hydro’s power generation has bounced back in 2018 with rains returning amid a double digit pick up in overall demand, official data shows.
Total power generation rose 10 percent from a year earlier to 2,480 GigaWatt hours in the first two months of 2019, with February generation up 11.0 percent, data from the central bank shows.
In 2017 power generation only grew 0.3 percent in the first two months.
Hydro power generation at state-run Ceylon Electricity Board has soared 93 percent to 443 GigaWatt hours, in the first two months of the year.
Private sector non-conventional renewable energy, mostly mini-hydro and wind also rose 60 percent to 172 GigaWat hours.
Fuel oil driven energy also grew 21 percent to 496 GWh, amid double digit demand growth and a drop in coal power to 938 GWh in the first two months of 2018.
Private sector thermal energy fell to 411 GWh from 473GWh.
In March 2018 CEB’s hydro generation rose 75 percent to 208GWh data from the regulator, which does not include mini-hydro output showed. (Colombo/May30/2018)