Power crisis likely in mid-’20, If no 300 MW-LNG power plant

By Sandun A. Jayasekera

At a meeting chaired by Minister Mahinda Amaraweera and held at the Power and Energy Ministry yesterday it was revealed that a power crisis by April or May next year was inevitable as a result of the delay in constructing the proposed 300 MW-LNG power plant at Kerawalapiya.   

Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) officials who participated at the discussion had pointed out that a minimum of 100 MWs of power was needed to prevent a power crisis in in the mid 2020 and that parcel of power has to be procured from private suppliers at a very higher cost, making the CEB’s financial position extremely precarious.   
“The same scenario was experienced at the end of 2018 and the CEB had to go for spot purchases for 300 MW of power to prevent a power cut in 2019,” the minister said.   
He told officials that he was ready to amend the Ceylon Electricity Board Act of 1969 to facilitate an accelerated development of renewable energy and thereby plug the procurement of power from the private sector.   

The spot purchases in 2018 had increased the accumulated losses of the CEB in 2019 to Rs.85 billion from Rs.75 billion in 2018.   
The PUCSL officials said the CEB’s failure to develop renewable energy resources like wind power and solar power in the past five years has contributed to increasing its losses compelling the CEB to bridge the power shortage through spot purchases by paying Rs.13 per unit to private power providers.   

However, the minister said there would be no tariff increase or power cuts under any circumstances and asked officials to propose a quick solution to minimize CEB’s losses and other available options to prevent a power crisis. .   

He appointed a committee headed by Ministry Secretary Wasantha Perera to make recommendations to prevent an imminent power crisis in early 2020.