The Government’s plans to procure emergency power plants vital to avert a potential power crisis in 2018-2019 suffered a blow after the Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) decided to withdraw from all Technical Evaluation Committees (TECs) in charge of power plant procurement.

The CEBEU’s move marks an escalation of trade union action launched last month amid a bitter dispute over the CEB’s Long Term Power Generation Plan.

Among the emergency procurement plans that have been hit are the 300 Megawatt (MW) Combined Cycle Power Plant at Kerawalapitiya, 100MW barge mounted diesel plant in Galle and four 18MW diesel power plants.

“The Government has also taken Cabinet approval to acquire 100MW of emergency power during the coming dry period from February to May next year, but our members will not work on these high cost procurements,” CEBEU Executive Committee Member Athula Wanniarachchi insisted.

He revealed that two 300MW units of the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant in Norochcholai were scheduled to be shut down on separate occasions for routine maintenance next year for at least 45 days. As such, he warned that meeting the power demand would be difficult next year.

Mr. Wanniarachchi charged that no action had been taken to build a large (thermal or hydro) power plant since Lakvijaya’s Unit 3 was commissioned in 2013. As a result there is a huge power deficit at present and the situation would only worsen in 2018-19.

“The Government should take total responsibility for repercussions which might arise due to non-functioning of TECs working on medium-term and short-term power solutions,” he stressed, claiming the union gave the Government ample time to solve the issue.

The crisis stems from a dispute between the CEB and the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), the power sector regulator, over the country’s Least Cost Long Term Generation Expansion Plan (LCLTGEP) 2018-2037. The CEB alleges the plan approved by the regulator in July this year was not the plan it submitted. It charges that the PUCSL had exceeded powers vested with it in amending the plan, a charge which the regulator strongly refutes. The PUCSL claims that its analysis found that a “coal free” scenario submitted by the CEB was cheaper than the “base case” plan it recommended, which included coal power plants.

Meanwhile, Power and Renewable Energy Deputy Minister Ajith P. Perera said the Parliament’s Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on Energy had taken up the matter several weeks ago and all sides had agreed that the LCLTGEP needed a review.

“We also came to an agreement on the inclusion of coal power plants in the plan,” he said, indicating that proposals for coal power plants would be submitted to the Cabinet and the PUCSL again for approval.

As such, the Deputy Minister said there was no point in the CEBEU intensifying its trade union action.

Mr Wanniarachchi, however, said while an agreement had indeed been reached at the oversight committee some weeks ago, there had been no movement since then.

When contacted, United National Party Parliamentarian Ashu Marasinghe, a member of the SOC on Energy, said the committee hoped to convene again before the end of the month to finalise its decision. He, however, said any changes should be made in line with the Government’s energy policy.

“The Government has also taken Cabinet approval to acquire 100MW of emergency power during the coming dry period from February to May next year, but our members will not work on these high cost procurements,” CEBEU Executive Committee Member Athula Wanniarachchi insisted.