El Niño raises risk of power cuts, PUCSL warns

A new risk of Sri Lanka having to face power cuts once again could emerge due to rising electricity demand and falling hydropower generation caused by the prevailing El Niño weather condition, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) warned.

Commission Chairman K. P. L. Chandralal states that while hydropower generation falls due to the drying up of water sources, electricity demand could increase along with weather conditions.

He pointed out that this situation could exert a severe impact on the national electricity supply.

The commission mentioned that a new electricity purchasing tariff scheme was introduced for renewable energy projects to face this crisis, and an operational capacity of 450 megawatts of solar power and battery-based systems is expected to be added by March 2027.