‘Cake, icing and power cuts’ – reply

You deserve the entire nation’s plaudits for the above-titled editorial, where you have identified the causes of power cuts. Let me elaborate on the causes that have led this country to this predicament. As stated by you, the Sampur Coal Power plant which was to be funded by India was cancelled by the then President Maithripala Sirisena, instead an LNG plant was to be constructed.

The story of this LNG plant is a sordid and corrupt affair to say the least, as the then Minister of Power and Energy interfered with the award of the tender to the lowest tenderer and instead awarded it to a higher bidder, a Chinese construction company. This dragged on for over four years and with the change of government, it was resolved by awarding the tender to the lowest bidder. Had this LNG plant at Kerawalapitiya been completed as scheduled, it could have averted power cuts to a certain extent, I believe. Then there was the interference by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), in the Long Term Least Cost Generation plan where a coal plant was included. This, too, dragged on disrupting the plans of the CEB.

I venture boldly to question as to what the best authority in this country is, to prepare a generation plan other than the expert, knowledgeable and trained engineers of the CEB, taking into consideration local and international requirements.

It should be mentioned here that the former Minister of Power and Energy, Dallas Alahapperuma, made representations to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to remove PUCSL from interfering with the CEB, which was granted. Unfortunately for the CEB, this was overruled by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who was also the Minister for Finance. I do not wish to question the rights and wrongs of this action. The result of this objection, I believe, and I expect it to be wrong, is that Minister Dallas Alahapperuma who pledged to make the CEB a profitable venture, was removed in a Cabinet reshuffle.

Then came the thunder, a bolt from the blues, when President Gotabaya Rajapaksa pompously declared the cancellation of the additional Coal Plant at Norochcholai and imposed the CEB to achieve 70 percent of power generation through renewable energy sources by 2030 without consulting the Ministry for Power and Energy or the CEB as to the possibility of achieving this target.

The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) has said that, even with a steady fuel supply, power cuts will be inevitable when hydropower reservoirs dry up drastically during the drought period and solar or wind power generation is affected by unpredictable weather patterns. CEB engineers suggest the construction of the additional Coal Power Plant, which I hope will be granted, unless of course the government resorts to power purchase from private suppliers for reasons left unsaid.

Environmentalists cried foul over my support for the introduction of coal power generation, without really understanding that it would only be until renewable energy sources took over. I also pointed out that other countries which were signatories to the Paris Accord on Climate Change, that added coal generated power to their grid, such as China, India and Bangladesh. Then comes the FNE American firm, awarded a tender for an LNG plant at Kerawalapitiya, without the knowledge of the Ministry for Power and the CEB, with the CEB Chairman confessing to his ignorance of the terms of the agreement, at a press conference.

As icing on the Power and Energy cake comes the appointment of a General Manager, much to the objection of CEB Engineers. The proper procedure of appointing the person next in seniority was not followed, and the matter had to be brought before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who put it to right to the satisfaction of CEB engineers. Otherwise, there would have been a major strike. The person responsible for this irregular and unacceptable action should be severely dealt with.

It is earnestly hoped that the President will honour his pledge made at the inauguration of the current parliamentary session that he would take stern action to steer the country to prosperity within the next three years. I

Neglecting this vital sector along with agriculture is disastrous.

G. A. D. Sirimal

BORALESGAMUWA