If the directors of CEB come to the salvage of the CEB with an enhanced credit ceiling of up to thumping Rs.100 billion for the supplies of fuel to the board of thermal plants, consumers of electricity, industry as well as citizens, facing the expectation of an erratic electricity supply from a cash-strapped Ceylon Electricity Board may receive some replacement.
“CPC decided to improve the CEB credit limit but is awaiting the approval of the CPC Board of Directors,” the sources reported to the Daily News. The directing directors meet in two weeks ‘ time for evaluation.’ After the CPC concluded that despite a prior engagement by the CEB to pay off a portion of the company’s funds already owed to the Corporation, the CPC had developed the improved loan package that would enable the CPC to restore fuel sales back to the CEB thermal power plant.
The indebted CEB requested a Rs 10 trillion loan from the Bank of Ceylon earlier this week to compensate the CPC for payments. In the meantime, CPC demanded a monthly payment by the Electricity Board. Earlier this month, there were national energy cuts after the fuel delivery of the CPC were suspended from the CEB owing to overdue fuel purchase payments once the Board of Directorate’s debt surpassed the loan limit of Rs.80 billion.
Ravi Karunanayake, Power and Renewable Energy Minister, informed the Daily News that the Treasury had not paid over one year for CPC payments. He said the CPC had allowed the CEB to make payments for two weeks.
The representative of the CEB’s Finance Department revealed that “the CEB is in talks to borrow 15 billion from the bank of Ceylon to support the CPC.
“This is the first Rs. 80 million compensation payment. Fuel should then be continued. “Officials of the OIDM said a choice had been reached to refuel the CEB with fuel before payments could be made within the next couple of weeks. Fuel supplies should remain continued.
“Refuelling to avoid island-wide energy outages has been recommended by the appropriate officials,” said the official. “The CEB will have to shut down some of these energy plants which will result in energy interruptions if the fuel is not constantly provided.”
