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Power cuts loom as dispute between CEB engineers and PUCSL continues
Sri Lanka may face power cuts in view of the prolonged drought because the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) and the Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union have failed to reach agreement on new projects. These include liquid natural gas (LNG) and thermal power plants which were expected to generate about 1000MW and were to begin this year or next year, but may now be delayed till 2020, the Sunday Times learns.
In a bid to avert immediate power cuts, a Cabinet paper was presented by Power and Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya to buy 100MW of emergency power supplies for six months with the option to continue for a year. A CEB Engineers Union member said such a private purchase would cost a staggering Rs 9 billion for six months.
Power and Energy Ministry Secretary B.M.S. Batagoda said that due to the unpredictable rainfall and the failure to go ahead with the new plants, the emergency supplies were needed to avoid power cuts. He said the situation could get worse if several power generating plants were closed for maintenance. “We will be buying a unit at Rs 28 after competitive worldwide bidding. If it’s for capacity charge, that is to have standby power supplies, it will cost Rs 2 or Rs 3 a unit,” Mr. Batagoda said.
The Secretary said if the purchases were to be made from CEB gas turbines, the cost would be about Rs 45 a unit. “We will try to resolve the differences between the Engineers and the PUCSL and get the new power plants started. Otherwise we will have to put them on hold till 2020,” he said.
Meanwhile, Engineers Union leader Saumya Kumara said that after 2015 when the Norochcholai plant was opened, not a single power plant was started. “The demand for electricity grows by 200MW a year and at present we have a shortage of around 500MW. The problem between the Engineers Union and the PUCSL has been dragging on for about a year and there has been no solution beside the intervention of the President and the Prime Minister,” he said.
The union leader said that buying 100MW would not suffice for the immediate future because if there was a breakdown at Norochcholai or any other power plant, then it could lead to a power cuts.“If this situation continues for two more years and we have to buy power in this manner, it will be the consumer who will have to bear the costs,” he warned.
Mr. Kumara said the engineers were planning trade union action within the next week, unless there was a solution to the dispute with the PUCSL.