CEB engineers are of view that a complete shift from coal to renewable energy will cause substantial additional cost, Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said. He was responding to a question by journalists at a press conference at his ministry yesterday. The minister said his ministry responsibly pays attention to the views of the CEB Engineers’ Association, as they have a lot of experience and knowledge in the field.
“It is the Government’s policy to minimize the use of coal power ,taking into account the environmental impact. However what the Engineers also have a point” he said.
The Minister said that a high-powered professional committee has been appointed with the intervention of the Prime Minister to recommend the most suitable energy mix for Sri Lanka.
He said the Committee would consider all diverse views and come up with the most suitable option.
CEB Chairman Anura Wijepala said the CEB Engineers have pointed out that if the proposed 500MW coal power plant was converted to the LNG completely, it would cause Rs 10 billion additional annual operating costs.
“Ultimately, this has to be paid by the consumers ” he said.
Ministry Secretary B M S Batagoda pointed out that Sri Lanka’s power tariff is high compared with other countries in the region. “Therefore there is a lot of pressure coming from the public to bring down this cost. What the engineers point out is that going for cheaper energy is necessary to
achieve this end,” he said.
The Minister said the Government would take a decision on the most suitable energy policy for the country once the Committee hands over its report.
Responding to another question, the CEB Chairman said the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant has a valid Environmental Protection License (EPL) . He said the license had been renewed as necessary.
Asked whether the Government’s decision not to build a coal power plant in Sampur would aggravate the looming power crisis in 2017-2018, he said Sampur was not a solution to this crisis anyway as it was proposed to be connected to the national grid only in 2021. “Discussions are underway to convert this plant to LNG. The Government has already made plans to build
a 300 MW LNG plant in Kerawalapitiya and generate another 100-200 MW from solar power. I can assure that there will not be a power cut in 2018. “We have made plans to avert a power cut” he said.
He further said a special power conservation programme would also be implemented with the aim to reduce electricity demand by 500 MW in the next few years.
He said a Presidential Task Force would also be set up for this purpose.
The Minister further said the long standing problem of recruiting manpower agency workers to the permanent cadre would be solved by October 17. He said a Cabinet paper would be presented to recruit the meter readers and non-qualified manpower workers to the permanent cadre under a special category. He said there would not be any more irregular recruitment to the CEB once this matter is closed.
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