CEB to buy 100MW of electricity from three companies

• As a short-term solution to the power crisis

By Ranjan Kasthuri   

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has chosen three private  companies to buy 100 megawatts of electricity with immediate effect to  solve the current power crisis in the country, sources said.  

Aggreko,V-power and Altas Aldernatives were chosen after a bidding process and the agreements in this regard are to be signed in the coming days, the CEB sources said.   
The government is expected to purchase power from these private electricity suppliers for six months at the rate of between Rs. 28 - 30 per unit.   

The CEB expects that a continuous supply of electricity could take place countrywide following the addition of these 100 megawatts of electricity to the power grid.   

In the meantime the CEB announced that it would pay Rs.36 per unit of electricity to private institutions that are willing to use generators for their electricity needs instead of from the main grid.Additionally, it was also decided to buy a unit of solar power from small and medium suppliers at Rs.16 a unit.