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Note that the Full Voice cut have been edited by the Sirasa News First team.
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By Niranjala Ariyawansha
The Engineers Union of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEBEU) has called an emergency Special General Meeting (SGM) today (11), ahead of contemplating tough trade union action over pressure being exerted by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) on the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM). The PUCSL is forcing the CCEM to implement the Least Cost Long Term Generation Expansion Plan (LCLTGEP), which had been allegedly drawn up against the Electricity Act. A CEBEU source told Ceylon Today that they have convened the SGM due to the failure of the talks they had with the subject Minister, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Ministry Secretary Dr. Suren Batagoda last Tuesday.
The President of the CEBEU Saumya Kumarawadu said that the SGM, which is to be held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), will be attended by some 800 engineers. The CEBEU declared last Sunday that if the PUCSL fails to withdraw the LCLTGEP, they would resort to stern trade union action.
Kumarawadu said, with effect from yesterday, the CEBEU removed all its members from Technical Evaluation Committees (TECs) set up at some power plants. Kumarawadu added that they have still not removed their members from the TEC, set up to evaluate such plants for the 2018-2019 period. The CEBEU has already warned that if the Government fails to respond to their demands within the next three weeks, they would even proceed to remove their members from daily operations at all major power plants too.
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???????? ????????? ????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ??????? 20?? ???? ????, ????? ?? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? 10 ?? 50? ?????? ????? ???? ? ???? ???? ???????.
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????? ?????? ??????, ????? ???? ???? ???????? ?????? ???????? ???? ??????????? ????? ??????? ??? ????????? ???? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ?.
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English:
The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union will begin a trade union action, after a power generation plan submitted by them was rejected by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka.
The trade union points says the power generation plan being prepared by the PUCSL consists of only wind power plants, and claim that this measure is ‘extremely costly.’
Chairman of the Union, Soumya Kumarawadu, says the union has also left the Technical Committee of the CEB.
News First: http://newsfirst.lk/sinhala/2017/09/103436/
English: http://newsfirst.lk/english/2017/09/ceylon-electricity-board-engineers-union-begin-trade-union-action/172559
The CEB Engineers’ Union says they will quit the Technical Committees, as the Public Utilities Commission is not accepting the electricity generation plans prepared by them.
They said the decision has been taken to show their protest.
The President of the CEB Engineers’ Union, Saumya Kumarawadu said they have already withdrawn their members from the planning activities of several power plants.
Friday, 08 September 2017 – 18:33 ?Hiru News
www.hirunews.lk/170454/ceb-engineers-union-quits-technical-committees
????-09 ???????
By Niranjala Ariyawansha
Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) has decided to initiate stern trade union action on Thursday (7) against the pressure to push for Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) Power Plants by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) who they accuse of manipulating the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) into submission.
CEBEU has also decided to withdraw all their members from the Technical Evaluation Committees starting from 7 September, unless the Least Cost Long Term Generation Expansion Plan (LCLTGEP) compiled by PUCSL is withdrawn.
CEBEU has sent a letter dated 28 August to Minister of Power and Renewable Energy, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, notifying him about the trade union action.
When inquired by Ceylon Today former CEBEU President Athula Wanniarachchi said that India and Japan have pushed an unsolicited proposal to set up a LNG terminal in Sri Lanka. He pointed out that two 500 MW LNG plants are included into the proposal.
The proposal has mooted the setting up of a company of which majority stakes will belong to Japan and India whereas Sri Lanka will own fewer shares.
“Their main intention is not to invest on a terminal and earn profits out of the terminal business, but to dump the high cost LNG in their hand on unsuspecting Sri Lankans. In order to ensure that there is sufficient demand in Sri Lanka for LNG to dump their high cost, high volume contracts, they are also trying to force LNG power plants into the country,” Wanniarachchi charged.
Explaining further, he said, “If we accept this proposal, this country would run straight into a trap and we will be forced to bear the sins of others and buy LNG at a higher price for generations to come, when LNG is traded very low at the moment. Further, giving terminal operations and LNG procuring to a non-State-owned entity is very dangerous and the energy security of the nation would be at serious risk one day.”
He added that it is clear that forcing LNG plants on CEB is not an isolated incident but a part of a larger conspiracy. World Oil and LNG prices crashed in August 2014. However, as LNG contracts are based mainly on long and medium-term contracts, there are many countries that still hold pre-August 2014 priced LNG contracts and are required to buy LNG at prices that they have signed prior to August 2014.
CEBEU has been at loggerheads with the PUCSL for some time now citing the PUCSL is influenced by outsiders who wish to manipulate the country’s generation mix. In February and April this year, CEBEU wrote two strongly worded lengthy letters to the Commission alleging that PUCSL staff are supporting anti-Coal lobby and are siding with the LNG mafia, for which the PUCSL replied in April denying the allegations.
The fight took a new turn with the PUCSL granting approval to the CEB’s LCLTGEP for 2018-2037 periods on June 2017.
Both CEB and CEBEU had claimed that what the PUCSL had approved is not the plan submitted by CEB for approval but a plan that PUCSL has prepared on their own after removing Coal plants in the CEB plan and forcing LNG plants instead. CEB wrote officially to PUCSL claiming PUCSL had exceeded the powers given to it under the Sri Lanka Electricity ACT by amending the CEB’s recommended plan on their own.
And then CEB wrote to the Attorney General too asking for legal opinion.
However, the PUCSL claims that the generation mix that they had approved is of lower cost than the CEB generation mix. CEBEU strongly denies this claim and had even stated in their letter to the subject Minister that by doing so PUCSL had “surprisingly proved to the world for the first time that LNG fired generating technologies are cheaper than Coal Steam Plants”.
CEBEU now claims that the action by the PUCSL is part of a bigger conspiracy to dump high cost LNG plants on the country.
Continue reading “CT – Warns country heading right into a LNG trap CEBEU declares stern TU action”
…..
CEB, which made a Rs. 28.85 billion profit in 2015, posted a Rs. 14.5 billion loss in 2016 due to the government not approving a price increase to avoid losses. CEB’s projected loss for 2017 is Rs. 28 billion.
Meanwhile, CPC, which had accumulated approximately Rs. 245 billion in losses by end-2014, saw Rs. 19.47 billion in losses added in 2015, before making a Rs. 69.62 billion profit in 2016. CPC losses for the first four months of this year stood at Rs. 3.85 billion.
Sri Lankans are happy to accept subsidized fuel and energy prices, forgetting that the losses and debt incurred by the SOEs will have to be recouped by the government through taxes in the future.
Starting this year, the financial performances of CPC, CEB and SriLankan will be subjected to quarterly monitoring….
Read More: SL prone to debt shock until energy pricing mechanism in place: IMF
Mirror Business
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News First – 18/08/17 Prime time News
LNG Tender: ?? ??????? ?????? ???? ??????? ????????? ????????
https://www.facebook.com/cebengineers/videos/691596554379273/
The awarding of the 300 MW (LNG) Combined Cycle Kerawalapitiya power plant tender is set to drag on further owing to certain disagreements in opening the financial bid of Samsung JV Korea Group without considering bids of seven other firms.
This decision was taken by the Standard Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (SCAPC) amidst disagreement of the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC), a senior official of the Power and Renewable Energy Ministry said. Plans to build the power plant were suspended after detecting certain irregularities in the tender procedure to select the company to construct the plant. The LNG power project has been in the planning stage for the last 10 years. The disqualified bidders’ can make their submissions to the Appeal Board against the SCAPC decision, Secretary to the Ministry Dr. Suren Batagoda told the Business Times.
The current controversial tender under criticism of CEB engineers and energy experts is likely to be referred to the Procurement Appeal process, he opined. He disclosed that he has already submitted his observations to the cabinet stating that all eight bids which passed in commercial evaluation should be re-considered in awarding this tender.
Read More:
Sunday, August 13, 2017
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??? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????????? ????? ????? ??? ???????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???, ???????? ???? ??????? ?????? 15,000?? ???? ??????? ?????? ????.
???????? 300? ??????????? ???? ??? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ? ???? ???????? ?? ?????? 08?? ?????? ?????? 06?? ???? ???????? ??????? ??????? ???? ??????.
? ???? ?????? 06 ??????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???.
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Electrical engineers warn about Kerawalapitiya tender; 15 billion loss – Hiru News
The government is looking to work out a permanent solution to the crisis at the Norochcholai coal power plant as the plant continues to suffer more breakdowns.
A Chinese technical team was scheduled to arrive in the country recenly to inspect the plant and rectify some of the issues.
Sulakshana Jayawardena, Director (Development) at the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy told The Sunday Leader that the technical team will service the coal power plant and carry out maintenance work.
A generator at the Norochcholai coal power plant broke down last month. The third power generator at the power plant that broke down.
The Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy later said there will not be power cuts in the island as a result of the breakdown.
Jayawardena said that the third generator at Norochcholai adds 300 mw of power to the national grid.
Deputy Minister of Power and Energy Ajith Perera compared the Norochcholai coal power plant to that of a disabled child.
The Deputy Minister told The Sunday Leader that the country is heavily dependent on the Norochcholai coal power plant as the water levels at catchment areas are very low.
He said that the government had the burden of having to manage the plant which was commissioned by the former regime.
Dy. Minister Perera said that the government would however rectify the issues at Norochcholai and make it a more effective power station in the country.
“We are doing our best to ensure uninterrupted power supply in the country,” the Deputy Minister added.
Jayawardena said that the recent power outings in the country were not totally related to the Norochcholai breakdown.
He said that the recent trade union action by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) resulted in fuel not reaching private power suppliers.
As a result at least one private power supplier was unable to operate the power station and supply power to the national grid.
In April this year the Norochcholai coal power plant suffered a similar breakdown as the recent one and even then Chinese experts were called in to rectify the issue.
Following the April breakdown, Power and Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya visited the Norochcholai coal power plant to inspect the damage caused to one generator.
Meanwhile in October last year, following similar breakdowns, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) appointed a high-profiled three member committee to carry out an independent investigation.
Shibly Aziz, Former Attorney General and President’s Counsel had been appointed as the Chairman of the Committee with R. I. Senaratne, Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering, IESL College of Engineering and Professor Kapila Perera, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa had been appointed as committee members.
The Investigation Team was tasked to investigate relevant technical and non-technical evidence/information/data that requires to ascertain the causes of the failure, examine the causes for the failure, analyze whether the failure could have been prevented and make recommendations and advice to prevent similar failures in the future.
by Ashanthi Warunasuriya
Sunday Leader – 2017/08/13
Attempts are being made to sabotage the competitive bidding process to procure a 300 Mega Watt (MW) Combined Cycle Power Plant, the Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union has claimed, but the ministry has refuted the charge.
Eight bids had been submitted for the plant to be built in Kerawalapitiya. After the technical evaluation process, six had been recommended by the CEB’s Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) for financial evaluation. However, the union charges that the Standard Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (SCAPC), formerly known as the Tender Board, had “arbitrarily decided” that only one bidder was suitable for financial evaluation.
“It is highly suspicious and we assume that this has been done due to some outside influence as SCAPC does not have any technical knowledge to overrule a technical decision recommended by the TEC,” Saumya Kumarawadu, the CEBEU’s President claimed.
According to the CEBEU, the financial bid of the only remaining bidder, a Korean Company, was opened on Friday by the Ministry/CEB Bid Opening Committee in the presence of the other unsuccessful bidders. It was, however, found that the bidder had not submitted a written and signed financial bid but only a soft copy in a flash drive. Without filling the prices in the specified sheet along with a signature and seal, the bid is considered invalid. On the request of the bidder the Bid Opening Committee had tried to open the soft copy but this too had failed due to a technical issue.
The CEBEU suspects that plans are now being drafted to call fresh bids to procure the power plant and will require another 9-12 months resulting in power cuts in 2019, unless the Government purchases costly emergency power, Mr Manawadu stated.
The CEBEU’s stand, according to its President, is that all five remaining bids which were “legitimately recommended” by the TEC should be opened and the tender awarded to the bidder who has quoted the lowest price.
Power and Renewable Energy Ministry secretary Dr Suren Batagoda acknowledged that the selected bidder had failed to submit a written and signed financial bid. He added the bidder has claimed that the reason for the lapse is that they had been “confused by instructions in the tender document.”
He defended the SCAPC’s initial decision to select one out of six bidders, stating that the TEC, in its recommendations, had noted that there were technical deficiencies in the bids submitted by the other five bidders but to give them a period of time to correct the deficiencies.
Read More: New power plant: CEB union claims tender irregularity, but ministry refutes charge
Sunday, August 13, 2017
By Niranjala Ariyawansha
Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy Dr. Suren Batagoda said yesterday that, it has been decided by SCAPC (Standard Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee) to open the financial biddings of only one company in relation to the 300MW Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) Power Plant scheduled to be constructed at Kerawalapitiya, which has created much controversy.
However, he emphasized that the SCAPC decision is not the final decision and the remaining seven bidders can present themselves at an Appeal Board against it.
He made these comments in response to an inquiry we made as to whether a decision has been made to open the financial biddings of only one company, in an illegal manner, by SCAPC without taking into consideration the recommendations of the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC). Even prior to this, the SCAPC had decided to award this tender sans any competition, in an illegal manner to only one company. The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) had expressed their strong opposition to that decision.
A fundamental rights petition filed in Court that this tender is illegal, is already being heard.
With media reports that were published that there was corruption behind awarding of the tender, the Minister of Power and Renewable Energy Ranjith Siyambalapitiya suspended the opening of financial biddings.
Read More: Kerawalapitiya LNG Plant Appeals Board will consider bid revisions
Ceylon today 2017-08-10