The Power and Renewable Energy Ministry has brushed aside warnings of countrywide power-cuts in March and April due to trade union (TU) action by the Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union (CEBEU). Deputy Minister Ajith P. Perera told the Sunday Times, he did not believe the CEBEU would resort to a measure as extreme as one that would lead to a countrywide power crisis.

He was speaking in the wake of warnings by the Engineers that power-cuts were possible by March, if their TU action continued into the dry season. TU action has been continuing for some months over a dispute between the CEB and the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), the power sector regulator, regarding the country’s long term power generation plan.

Engineers have to date kept away from Technical Evaluation Committees (TECs) which handle power purchase tenders. In the latest such development, CEBEU members refused to be part of a TEC appointed to procure 100 Megawatts (MW) of emergency power. Tender for the plant was opened on Friday (12) and will now have to be evaluated by a TEC, before a bidder is selected.

Mr Perera however, was hopeful that such action would not result in a power crisis in the next several months. “There have been occasions in the past where the CEBEU have helped us in times of dire need, even in the midst of TU action. I don’t believe that stance will change.”
The CEBEU held a different view. “If 100 MW emergency power is not available by March, there will definitely be power-cuts, as we can’t expect any rain during this period,” claimed CEBEU Committee Member Athula Wanniarachchi. In case of a breakdown in a major power plant, the situation will be aggravated further. Mr Wanniarachchi insisted the CEBEU was standing firm its members would not take part in TECs for any power procurement project, unless the Government resolves the dispute surrounding the Least Cost Long Term Power Generation Plan (LCLTPGEP).

Several power plants, namely Unit 3 of the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant in Norochcholai (300 MW), Kelanitissa Combined Cycle Power Plant (160 MW) and Kelanitissa Gas Turbine 7 (100 MW) are also due for shutdowns at different times, from February to April, for routine maintenance. Meanwhile, private power plant Sojitz-Kelanitissa (160 MW) has been out of order from July 2017, due to a mechanical breakdown.

“The combined capacity of all the country’s hydropower reservoirs currently stand at about 68%. Once that level falls to 35%, the situation would be critical, as priority would have to be given to release water for drinking and agricultural purposes,” Mr Wanniarachchi elaborated. “As such, customers, especially industries will suffer.”

“The CEBEU would not take any responsibility if power-cuts do occur,” Mr Wanniarachchi stated, arguing that the Government and PUCSL should take the blame. “We are taking several measures to meet energy needs during the coming dry season, and purchasing emergency power is only one measure,” maintained Deputy Minister Perera, claiming plans are being put in place to avert power-cuts. Meanwhile, the Ministry was working hard to resolve the dispute between the CEB and PUCSL.

Mr Perera also said that, when it came to the country’s long term power generation plan, both the CEBEU and the Ministry are in agreement. That policy envisaged what he claimed was a “correct combination”, which saw a mix of hydro, renewable energy sources and coal among other things.

The problem, he stressed, was due to some officials of the PUCSL who were “clinging firmly to their own opinions.”
“We acknowledge the PUCSL has a right to voice its thoughts. What we are trying to do is narrow down the differences between their opinions and those of the CEB,” he remarked.

Ceylon Today

By M Rishar M Saleem

Sinister moves by the authorities to sabotage awarding the Kerawalapitiya-ii combined cycle power project to a local company could cause Rs 204 billion in losses to the State, alleged senior engineers of CEB, speaking to Ceylon FT yesterday.
Furthermore, the engineers opined that it was the right of the public to know such moves which affect public life and enormously affect Government coffers. “This would be a much greater scam than the Rs 11 billion Bond scam if it goes unnoticed”, they alleged.
It was brought to light that some authorities with vested interest were favouring the 300 MW Kerawalapitiya-ii combined cycle power plant to be awarded to Samsung Korea, overlooking local bidders whose tariffs were much lower. This is a definite saving of Rs 204 billion to the country; the loss could be 20 times greater than the now-infamous Bond scam.

This scam is now being exposed, thanks to some concerned parties who stand against corruption, whose eyebrows were raised by the fact that Samsung, who was disqualified for non-submission of signed documents for the financial bid was considered a genuine bidder.

Engineers charged that “Despite the scam under the carpet being exposed, players with vested interests lament over fairytales and keep dragging the issue without awarding the contract to the deserving bidder, which is a serious violation of Government tender awarding procedures.” According to sources, the margins between the lowest and second-lowest bidder were no less than a staggering Rs 34 billion, which is three times greater than the Bond Scam losses.

At the beginning of this month, the Director General of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), Damitha Kumarasinghe warned that the Kerawalapitiya Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) plant would need to be started soon if they are to keep to the CEB’s timeline of commissioning it by 2019. The PUCSL has repeatedly warned that the country will face an energy crisis soon unless they keep to the approved generation plans and implement what has been proposed.

In this respect, PUCSL officially noted that delaying this essential power plant will certainly cost the country to the tune of Rs 1.55 billion per month when compared to the high cost of short- term emergency power plants required to bridge the gap.
Over the last 20 years, the country has had to resort to diesel and thermal power plants to meet increasing power needs, as the long-term power plants proposed for over 20 years have not materialized in keeping with failures of CEBs project proposals.
The 300MW Kerawalapitiya-II tender was floated by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) as a fast-track power plant, by squeezing the time spans required for each aspect of the project.

Proposals were opened in April 2017 and now a total of eight months have lapsed; the fast-track project has become an off-track project. This delay has already resulted in a loss of Rs 12.4 billion, a figure exactly close to the Bond Scam, unheeded by the public.
The delaying stance adopted by the authorities is questionable as the country faces a severe energy crisis and it is time for the concerned parties to prioritize the country instead of personal gains, the engineers alleged.

Meanwhile, the authorities have issued a drought warning for the March-April 2018 period, which could result in imminent power cuts.

Ceylon Today

By Niranjala Ariyawansha

Minister of Power and Renewable Energy Ranjith Siyambalapitiya is to present a Cabinet Paper next week requesting to dissolve the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) and appoint suitable intellectuals instead, Ceylon Today reliably learns.
According to sources, Ministry Secretary Dr. Suren Batagoda is also preparing to include several negative observations regarding the PUCSL in that particular Cabinet Paper.

He is due to point out that the membership of the PUCSL is not acting professionally and by submitting false figures and statistics in connection with Power Plants, they have misled the public.

They have decided to submit this Cabinet Paper after the PUCSL had last week rejected a Joint Cabinet Paper submitted three weeks ago by Ministers Siyambalapitiya and Dr. Amunugama, saying that a generation mix was required for the energy security of the country.

Simultaneously, this took place within a backdrop where the Least Cost Long Term Generation Expansion Plan (LCLTGEP) 2018-2038 which the CEB had submitted to the PUCSL had been set aside.

This Cabinet Paper had emphasized that, similar to all countries in the world, Sri Lanka too, without depending only on one source of energy to fulfil the future energy needs of the country, should use all other sources including coal.

The LCLTGEP prepared by the CEB states that all energy sources including coal had been mentioned. However, the PUCSL had removed the coal power plants and included many Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) plants instead, pointing out falsely that Coal was far more expensive than LNG, the CEB Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) has alleged.

In a case filed at the Appeal Court by two others including member of the CEBEU Athula Wanniarachchi it has been requested that an order be issued to the PUCSL that the illegally prepared LCLTGEP be withdrawn.

According to the Sri Lanka Electricity Act, No. 20 of 2009, Clause No. 5 and the Public Utilities Commission Act No. 35 of 2002, Clause No. 30, the Subject Minister should prepare the General Policy Guidelines on the Electricity Industry and submit it to the Cabinet. All amendments submitted for these too should be approved by the Cabinet and it should be laid before Parliament and only then be presented to the PUCSL. According to this policy of the government, the LCLTGEP should be prepared by the CEB.

The role of the PUCSL is to regulate whether the CEB complies with implementing the policy provided by the government or not.

Under these circumstances, what the government has done by referring the generation mix policy document prepared by the two ministers, to the PUCSL requesting them to submit their observations is reversing the legal framework that exists. Professor Kumar David, a veteran energy expert and an electrical engineer warns that the government has yet to realize the danger of the ad-hoc decisions they make in the power and energy sector sans any proper policy and as a result Sri Lanka will have to face a severe energy crisis in the near future.

He also emphasized the fact that the beginning of this was the decision taken by the government, to halt the construction of the Sampur Coal Power Plant made without any foresight.

He further told Ceylon Today that even now, the government has set aside preparing an energy policy and instead it is making stupid decisions based on inaccurate guidance of advisors.

By bring to a standstill the Sampur Coal Power Plant a sum of Rs 220 billion would have to be spent to purchase power from high cost diesel power plants and it is a serious mistake, he added.

http://www.ceylontoday.lk/print20170401CT20170630.php?id=38457

BY Niranjala Ariyawansha

Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) engineers have decided not to participate in the technical evaluation process of the 100 megawatt (MW) emergency power tender, which is to be purchased by the Government,……as a solution to face up to the drought conditions which may occur during the months of March and April this year.

Due to this decision taken by the CEB engineers, there could be a strong possibility of power cuts coming into effect during the months of March and April, informed sources informed Ceylon Today.

The tender is to be opened today (12) and the CEB Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) said that the arbitrary conduct of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) and the failure of the Government to control the PUCSL, had prompted them to opt out of the evaluation process.

The sources said that during the dry spell even if one unit of the 300MW Norochcholai coal power plant were to breakdown, the situation could become worse.

They added that further complicating the situation would be the third phase of the Norochcholai plant having to be shut down for a 45-day period for scheduled maintenance work and thereby 300MW will be lost to the National Grid during that period.

Though the CEBEU is opposed to the purchase of high cost emergency power, Committee Member of the union, Athula Wanniarachchi said that it was with the greatest displeasure that the tender book, for this tender, had been prepared owing to the failure to build at least one Big Firm Power Plant since 2013.

“But, we are not participating in this tender evaluation. Due to this, during the dry spell, expected in March and April, there is a likelihood of power cuts taking place. If such a scenario is to take place then, the rap for it should be taken by the officers of the PUCSL and those bigwigs of the Government who support such actions,” said Wanniarachchi.

The CEB engineers, upon having completed the technical evaluation process within a fortnight, will need to submit its recommendations to the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) which in turn will hand over its recommendations to the Standard Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (SCAPC).

The SCAPC will, after having considered the recommendations, award the tender to a suitable bidder.

Due to an ongoing internal battle within the CEB, regarding the Least Cost Long Term Generation Expansion Plan (LCLTGEP), which was filed by the CEB for 2018-2038, the CEBEU had withdrawn its members from the TEC and resorted to trade union action in the past few months.The General Manager of the CEB also had informed the PUCSL that they cannot implement the LCLTGEP compiled by the PUCSL instead of the LCLTGEP compiled by the CEB.

http://www.ceylontoday.lk/article20171001CT20180331.php?id=7265

http://www.ceb.lk/ceb-highlights-serious-errors-in-pucsl-report-on-cost-estimate-for-delays-of-power-projects/

CEB Highlights Serious Errors in PUCSL Report on Cost Estimate for Delays of Power Projects

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has recently released a report titled “Financial Delay in Implementation of Power Plants” which estimates the financial losses due to power plant delays between 2018 to 2020 period at 50.6 billion. CEB had replied to PUCSL stating that the report has over estimated losses by 650% and “has serious calculating errors and major omissions and is prepared without an in-depth analysis”.
This is the second occasion in the recent past where PUCSL had published reports giving figures that carry serious errors as per later CEB findings. In this latest CEB reply, the General Manager CEB had stated that PUCSL’s calculation of the delay to proposed 300MW Kerawalapitiya LNG power plant is a 1300% overestimate. As per CEB calculations the estimated financial losses should be 2 billion and not 28 billion as per PUCSL report. CEB highlighted the major mistakes committed by PUCSL in its estimation, which includes considering the power plant to operate on Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) from 2019 whereas the plant is to be partially operated on Oil in 2019 due to lack of availability of LNG supply infrastructure by then. CEB reply further highlights other mistakes by the commission such as considering the cost of Rooftop Solar as Rs 11.86 per unit whereas the current price paid for a unit of Solar rooftop is Rs 23 per unit. As 60% of current solar additions are from rooftops, such omissions create serious overestimations.
CEB reply also extended CEB assistance to commission staff and states “We accept the need to have an independent, professional regulator and would fully extend our support for your staff to develop such knowledge and skills required. We do acknowledge that electrical power systems is a highly specialized subject area and long years of experience in the fields of power planning and system operations is required to properly understand the intricacies. We cordially invite your staff to develop a close communication with the ministry, CEB and other agencies and understand the practical realities of power plant implementation in the country beyond the ideal, theoretical, isolated world within which they seem to operate.”
The CEB reply concludes by stating “However, if your staff fail to do so, their conduct not only would make timely development of power plant even more difficult to CEB and to the ministry but also would lead to develop a general distrust of reports and figures published by the commission.”

http://www.ceb.lk/ceb-requests-pucsl-to-verify-calculations-with-ceb-and-ministry-before-publishing/?lang=si

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) recently uploaded a document titled “Electricity Generation Costs” to its website, indicating what it deemed as unit cost of generation from six selected plants including Coal power. As per the report, the unit cost of oil fired thermal plants, which were among the most expensive sources of power generation, is 45% cheaper than that of the proposed Coal power plant at Sampur. As PUCSL calculations could mislead public and decision makers, CEB sent a letter to PUCSL highlighting the mistakes and requesting a correction. CEB had also given in its reply the actual unit costs from the same list of plants, which significantly differ from PUCSL figures.

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/171231/business-times/thank-you-govt-for-the-mess-in-the-power-sector-275118.html

Focus

Cancelling power plants is great fun. Even a child can do it. Building a new one, especially a large power plant and a new gas terminal, is so hard, and the Government is learning that the hard way. Learning for the fourth time, by exactly the same group of people running the Government; both now and then.

File picture of the Norochcholai Coal Power Station

In 1993, they kept shifting a major power plant from Trincomalee (east) to Mawella (south) to Norochcholai (west), as if Sri Lanka needs only one power plant for ever.

Then they meddled with a bid for a relatively tiny 40 MW power plant which was to be a stop gap measure, and the power system went into a great mess in 1996. Remember the 8-hour power cuts in 1996? That’s it.

From 1996 to 1999 they meddled with Norochcholai, in a red light, green light, red light cycle, and finally meddled with even the stop gap power plant to make up for the delay of Norochcholai, and then the country went into enormous blackouts in 2000 and 2001, months on end. The Government was thrown out of power, among other things, owing to mishandling of the power sector.

The meddling continued when the new Prime Minister finally “cancelled” Norochcholai power plant in 2002, and sent the Japanese away. He also “cancelled” the Upper Kotmale power plant in 2002. Then replaced them with two diesel power plants. Great, isn’t it?

Now in the fourth cycle of meddling with power plans, they cancelled the Trincomalee (Sampur) power plants in 2015 (not one but two power plants were cancelled). For three years, the President and the Prime Minister are still looking for that illusive “friend” or the “friendly country” to build a gas terminal for Sri Lanka, to make up for the cancelled power plants.

The political meddling is now amply supported by the legally established Public Utilities Commission (PUC) as well, giving legitimacy to what basically are political and commercial decisions to build, not to build or to shift power plants. By end November 2017, PUC proudly announced that 36 per cent of electricity production in the country over January-November 2017 came from diesel and fuel oil. If PUC’s efforts succeed (they will surely succeed, since that’s precisely what the politicians need), the country will report 50 per cent of electricity production from oil by 2020. Great, isn’t it, to again approach the status of an oil-rich, West Asian country to produce more and more electricity from oil?

The national energy balance says that the highest share of electricity produced from oil was in 2004, reaching 64 per cent in 2004, thanks to the Government of 2001-2004. The lowest share from oil was 18 per cent in 2015. The oil bill this year to produce electricity will exceed Rs. 80 billion, making the bond scam look like peanuts, and the power generation oil bill to look like coconuts.

Engineers do not know anything about power generation. Politicians and their hangers-on are the great planners of electricity systems. Short of putting their fingers in between two high voltage wires, they have done everything possible to change the power plans to suit their perceptions and commercial interests.

Now at the end of 2017, the reservoir storage is at an unhealthy 70 per cent; the inter-monsoon has ended. One unit of Norochcholai is down for long maintenance (note the PM sent the Japanese away in 2002, and a subsequent President got the Chinese to do it in 2005, of course to Chinese standards but for the Japanese price).
So the writing is on the wall.

Only a miracle can save Lanka from power cuts in 2018. Actually, there is no need for a miracle; if the country has adequate money, the same decision-makers will be very happy to award contract for more diesel power plants, and extend the contracts for existing ones they have already ordered.

Remember who cancelled the two power plants in Trincomalee in 2015, which were to produce electricity from 2019. If they were allowed to be built, the upcoming agony in 2018 would be short-lived. But now, the agony will continue (for the electricity customer and the economy), but the party will continue (for the decision-makers).

So when the electricity costs increase, the Government will say (and has already said) that electricity prices will not be increased. What they do not say is that costs of additional diesel power plants would be paid for possibly from telecom taxes or by cutting off expenses on health and education.

Either way, the customer and the economy will surely be the losers. I do not have to explain who the winners are.

aa

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??????, ??????? ???????????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ???????? ??????? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ?? ??????? ????? ?????????? ?? ?? ?????????.

http://www.mawbima.lk/print20170621MB20171230.php?id=8060