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CEB engineers’ union paints dark picture for country’s power sector
Ad hoc decisions with regard to the country’s power sector will cost the Government billions of rupees and the burden will have to be borne by the consumers, the Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) warned.
Referring to the decision to scrap the Indian funded coal power plant in Sampur, CEBEU President Athula Wanniarachchi claimed a lack of clear direction by the Government, coupled with apparent disregard for the advice of professionals, would hurtle the country towards a power crisis that it would not be able to overcome without pumping enormous funds to run and maintain costly diesel power plants.
This would mean consumers would have to endure rising electricity tariffs, he added.
He further said the decision was liable to cost the Government an additional Rs.170 billion over four years. The estimate had been made on the assumption that it would take at least four years for the proposed two combined cycle power plants at Kerawalapitiya (300 Megawatt) and Hambantota (170 Megawatt) to be converted from diesel to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). These plants are needed to meet a power crisis expected to hit the country in 2018-2019.
The Government has now asked India to relocate the plant to Kerawalapitiya where it would be constructed as an LNG plant.
Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has called for a meeting on Wednesday between representatives of the CEBEU and senior Ministry and CEB officials to discuss concerns raised by the engineers.
While the union was not against LNG or sources of renewable energy, the CEBEU President said they felt professionals were not allowed to have a say when it came to making important decisions regarding the country’s power sector and decisions were being made by “politicians and businessmen.”
Ministry secretary, Dr. Batagoda though, dismissed the claims made by CEBEU. The Sampur power plant would only be completed by 2021, long after the power crisis was expected, he pointed out. He also said it would not take years to convert the power plants to LNG as the engineers claimed.
The government was planning to construct a floating LNG terminal at the Colombo Port and this could be done within a year, he claimed. “If the engineers lend us their support, we can have the plants operational by 2018/2019.”