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

COLOMBO, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's state-owned electricity producer and distributor the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) on Sunday urged people to use electricity sparingly as demand for power has grown due to the dry weather, a senior official told the media on Sunday.

CEB spokesman Noel Priyantha told the media that electricity demand has increased by between three and four gigawatt hours in the past month.

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 percent in recent days due to dry weather, and 4.5 percent of electricity is generated from solar and 5 percent from wind farms.

The CEB spokesman said earlier that they are generating over 60 percent 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.