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CEB engineers say not happy with power sector policy decisions, warns of TU action
The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union (CEBEU) has threatened to take trade union action in protest over what it claims are ad-hoc decisions by the Government regarding the country’s power sector. CEBEU President Athula Wanniarachchi told the Sunday Times their members as an initial mark of protest would not take part in Technical Evaluation Committees (TEC) meetings to assess proposed power generation projects.
He cited the government’s decision to shift from coal power to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a source of energy and the involvement of outsiders to formulate energy policies as two main reasons for their proposed trade union action. The union leader said the shift from coal to LNG was advocated by a committee appointed by the National Policies and Economic Affairs Ministry which comes under the Prime Minister, but the CEBEU was not convinced that the decision was arrived at after careful consideration of all issues.
The six member committee comprised Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne, Prof. Kumar David, Prof. Kithsiri Liyanage, Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya, K.D. Ranasinghe and Prof. R.A.Attalage. Mr. Wanniarachchi said that Prime Minister’s Economic Affairs advisor Charitha Ratwatte had a meeting with CEB engineers and confirmed the policy decision to shift from coal to LNG. The engineers were told that the committee was appointed only to evaluate the economic impact of the decision.
Mr. Wanniarachchi said they were not prepared to accept this explanation. “What is the purpose of appointing a committee if a decision has already been made?” He said that drafting a long term power generation plan was the responsibility of the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy, the CEB and the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL). At present, however, the Ministerial Committee on Economic Affairs, the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Energy (comprising 20 MPs) and various Government officials were all involved in the process, resulting in the subject ministry and the CEB having little or no say in the process, he claimed.
Power and Renewable Energy Ministry Secretary Suren Batagoda, however, said the six-member committee was yet to submit its recommendations on whether coal should be completely ruled out as a energy source. “Initially, it was decided to do away with coal but after representations by various parties including the CEB, the committee was appointed to evaluate the matter,” he explained.
Dr. Batagoda, though, did confirm that the Government has now come to a decision that the power plant in Sampur should be converted from coal to LNG.