13 April 2019 03:02 pm
The government plans to commission the proposed LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) power project in 2021 to add 300 megawatts of electricity to the national grid, a spokesman said yesterday.
The Cabinet has decided to award the contract to a Chinese consortium ‘GCL WindForce & RenewGen.
Spokesman for the Power, Energy and Business Development Ministry Sulakshana Jayawardane told Daily Mirror the tender had been awarded to the Chinese consortium based on a decision taken by the Cabinet and that the power purchase agreement would be signed soon.
At present, the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) is attending to the power purchase agreement, it said.
Asked whether it would be possible to commission the plant according to the 2021 timeline, he said it could be done if the work starts within the next two to three months. “We plan to finish building the LNG project by that timeline,” he said.
Sri Lanka needs 2600 megawatts of electricity for the daytime and 2300 megawatts for night-time. There is a shortfall at the moment due to the drop in hydro-power generation. The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is purchasing power from the private sector to meet the demand without load shedding at the moment.
The delay in constructing a power plant is cited as the reason for the current power crisis. (Kelum Bandara)