Sri Lanka's Power Generation Up by 8.9pct in 1st Half of 2010

28th August 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lanka's power output rose 8.9 percent in the first half of 2010 from a year earlier, in a more active economy, official data showed, with larger volumes of cheaper hydro energy being generated.

State run Ceylon Electricity Board had generated 5,215 GigaWatt hours of energy (millions of units of electricity) in the six months to June. Hydro generation was up 47.6 percent to 1,897 GWh, and thermal energy was donw 26 percent to 870GWh.

Private sector power was up 3.4 percent to 2,401GWh.

In the month of June alone energy output rose 9.9 percent to 900 GWh, with CEB's thermal generation down 37 percent to 92GWh and hydro up 34 percent to 386GWh.

Private sector power was down to 7.5 percent to 414GWh.

Sri Lanka's central bank is forecasting 7.0 percent economic growth for 2010.
Last year Sri Lanka's power output contracted amid an economic slump, though official estimates claimed positive gross domestic growth during all quarters.