Still no respite for renewable energy plans
Solar panels in Sri Lanka.
It is only a matter of time before the renewable energy power plans breakdown.
Industry officials say these plants need regular servicing and that hasn’t been done in a while.
“We are short of cash to maintain our plants. If by any chance they breakdown then we need to wait for money in hand to repair them. It’s a catch-22 situation,” Kushan Jayasurya, Director Alpha Solar Energy Systems Pvt Ltd told the Business Times noting that still the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) dues have not been paid to them.
He said that at least 70 per cent of renewable energy projects are bank funded. “Now most loans are under the non-performing loans category in most banks and the cheques of these entities will not be honoured,” he added.
Industry officials say that almost one Giga Watt (1000 megawatts) of renewable energy is fed into the national grid of the CEB. The CEB pays in rupees to these companies unlike when sourcing fossil fuels which are purchased with forex.
Mr. Jayasuriya said that the recent meeting the industry had with the CEB, Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka ((PUCSL), and private banks ended in a stalemate.
The banks had insisted the loans be paid as they also have an obligation to their shareholders, he added. The PUCSL had requested the CEB to pay the firms their deals in at least two to three instalments as almost nine months have elapsed since their last payments. The CEB had said that they don’t have the cash to even paid staff salaries. A decision to discuss with the relevant ministries was agreed upon by all parties but so far it has happened.
Meanwhile a protest by the workers of the renewable energy sector was held in front of the CEB head office in Colombo Tuesday.
The workers claim that the CEB has withheld monies due, to the tune of Rs. 23 billion even though their workers have not suffered any cutbacks. Due to this 7000 workers and their families are on the verge of losing their jobs and homes, officials said.
All Island Mini-hydro Power Generators spokesman, Ruwan Pranga said, the protest made by the workers is to stress the seriousness of their situation. The banks are demanding the instalments on their housing loans which cannot be met and now the auctioning of their homes is a very real threat.
“Even though their salaries and allowances have been reduced due to this situation we have kept the plants running and producing power as it is of national importance to the country. If this sector which produces 12 per cent of the power was to close down the government will have to fill this gap by importing diesel to generate this power to fill the gap at the cost of Rs. 72.26, whereas we supply a unit of power at Rs 16.26,” he said.
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