Assessment of cost of unserved energy for Sri Lankan industrial sector

Abstract

The main function of a power system is to supply electricity to its customers at an adequate level of reliability and quality. Adequate level is the level of reliability and quality agreed upon by the stakeholders balancing the needs and costs of supply. Economic development of a country requires reduced frequency and duration of outages of supply and such improvements support the development in return. If such improvements are made, even a higher tariff is likely to be accepted by the customers. The Cost of Unserved Energy is one of the key economic evaluation parameters for deciding the required level of reliability of the power system. The need for an up to date study on this scope is strongly felt. This research presents the outcomes of a study for Assessment of Cost of Unserved Energy for Sri Lanka. The study is based on consumer survey method. The analysis has been done into three separate categories of electricity consumers as Industry, Commercial and Domestic. This research paper presents the results of Industry sector. Industry category is subdivided and results are presented separately for momentary, planned and unplanned electricity interruptions. It is expected that the results of this study helps the power sector to provide a better service, taking into consideration, the views of the customers and the national importance of electricity as an esential ingredient for economic growth.