The Impact of power interruptions on multi-storey commercial buildings in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The recent Sri Lankan economic crisis has led to fuel shortages, affecting power supply in multi-storey commercial buildings. The consequences of power interruption vary by facility type and consumer categories. Thus, comprehensive studies are required to assess the cost of unserved energy. Recently, high-rise commercial buildings have been increasingly studied, due to the shown variations in energy use. Considering this energy usage variation and the requirement of further studies, this study aims to explore the impacts of power interruption on multi-storey commercial buildings in Sri Lanka. Under a qualitative research approach, five multi-storey commercial buildings were selected for the case studies. Document reviews and semi-structured interviews with two respondents in each selected building were executed to data collection, and data were analysed using manual content analysis. The findings revealed that power interruption significantly affects commercial activities, business operations, building systems, maintenance and customer service. Also, the power interruption impacts are varied across the core business activities of the building. As the current solutions, generators and uninterruptible power supply are widely used. Fuel shortage, lack of skilled personnel, and lack of experience in sudden power outages are key barriers to implementing the identified solutions. To overcome the impacts of power interruption, strategies such as remote working, shift scheduling, work prioritisation, limiting the number of operational floors, limited usage of unnecessary systems and equipment, entering into the fuel supplier agreements and conducting routine maintenance to reduce power dependency during outages were suggested.