COLOMBO – Sri Lanka has asked rooftop solar owners contributing over 300 kw to the national grid to switch off during the upcoming long weekend, and said it will be rolling out a modem installation that will enable the power utility to remotely do so in the future.
“We entreat rooftop solar owners generating over 300kw to switch off during this weekend, June 27-29, so we can avoid a system collapse like what happened last Vesak [full moon day]” Deputy Minister of Energy Arkam Ilyas said in Parliament on Friday (26).
During the last full moon holiday, Sri Lanka experienced a power breakdown in several areas due to a big rooftop solar share.
The power utility struggled to maintain grid stability with rooftop solar as daytime demand fell with factories and businesses closed for the Vesak holiday.
The island-nation has had several such instance in the recent past.
“We had to then switch off about 120 feeders,” the deputy minister said, adding that Sri Lanka has around 2,200 rooftop solar owners generating over 100Kw.
“We have launched a project to fix a modem for them. Then in such an emergency situation, we will be able to remotely turn the feeders off and avoid power breakdowns in various parts of the country.”
The government hopes to install them all by December, Ilyas said.
Opposition legislator Harsha de Silva questioned if the National System Operator, a successor company of the Ceylon Electricity Board, has the power to do so.
Ilyas said the operator will act under the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka’s gazetted remit. “System stability is number 1,” he said.
-economynext.com
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.