Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union headed by Athula Wanniarachchi said, the government was fast tracking several projects, some of which have come through unsolicited bids and most of them not included in the Least Cost Long Term Generation Plan (LCLTGP), prepared by the CEB and approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), recently.

“According to the existing plan, conditionally approved by the PUCSL, we have proposed only one 300 mw plant in Kerawalapitiya and 170 mw plant in Hambantota. However, the government is pushing for an additional 300 mw combined cycle plant in Kerawalapitiya, 400 mw plant in Hambantota and an additional 500 mw LNG plant in Kerawalapitiya,” Wanniarachchi said. “We don’t need so many plants simultaneously. We don’t even have transmission lines to Kerwalapitiya or LNG terminals. We cannot pretend to go grocery shopping for power plants,” he said. READ MORE …

2016-11-22

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s state-owned electricity utility has revealed plans to add two high-cost fuel oil power plants to its electricity generation mix after the government took a controversial decision to scrap a planned coal-fired plant whose construction was about to start.

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) plans to add one 100MW and one 70MW furnace oil or fuel oil power plant, respectively, among several planned power stations. READ MORE …

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s renewable energy businessmen, who are making billions of rupees by selling high priced power to the people, have been exempted from value added tax when they build plants, while healthcare is taxed. READ MORE …

Athula Wanniarachchi,-President, Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union

As per Electricity Act 2009, the private sector is not allowed to invest in electricity transmission. As the ‘Transmission licensee’, only Ceylon Electricity Board is allowed to do it. It seems that the Finance Ministry has not discussed this matter with Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy before stating it at the Budget speech. They have just arbitrarily included this item without fully knowing the subject matter. The budget has mentioned nothing of government plans to provide electricity at a lower rate which is a very important attribute to attract foreign industries. Other regional countries like India and Bangladesh have good plans to reduce cost of electricity to enhance the industries and the growth of economy and job opportunities for the youth. The Union will not agree with the statement. The government is looking to diversify its energy sources to include LNG, and Green energy sources as well. It is important to ensure that adequate investments are made for transmission and distribution as well. Therefore, we encourage the private sector to participate in providing transmission facilities within each province. READ MORE …

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questioned the reason for the present United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) to entertain another dubious project by the Chinese Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC). It is the same company that built the China’s main energy-related project in Sri Lanka – the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant, which has already become a shining example for questionable Chinese investments during the Rajapaksa regime. READ MORE…

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Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe postponed a crucial meeting titled  ‘How to face energy crisis after 2018’ when he found that Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjith Siyabalapitiya was not present for the meeting at the Parliament Complex.

According to energy experts, the Premier, who is attempting to prevent the country from facing a power crisis, had told senior officials of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), Lanka Electricity Company (LECO), energy sector regulator Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) and others that there is no point holding a discussion of this nature without the presence of the Minister in charge. READ MORE …

The CEB Engineers Union said they are awaiting proper guidelines from the Power and Energy Ministry to go ahead with the tenders for the combined cycle power plant in Kerawalapitiya and the diesel power plant in Hambantota.

Engineers Union President Athula Wanniarachchi said these type of projects, BOOT (Build-Own-Operate-Transfer) needed clear procurement guidelines to be issued by the Government and everything has been held up as a result.

The two power plants were not in the long term generation plan of the CEB.

It was planned after the Sampur debacle.  READ MORE…

The Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) slow progress and delays in launching power projects will exacerbate the impending power crisis in the country, Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy, Dr. Suren Batagoda has said in a letter to government authorities.

In his letter, the Ministry secretary states that he “has clearly highlighted the seriousness of the issue and given directions to expedite the procurement process of the two power plants.

However, it seems that CEB board and staff have not understood the gravity of the situation.”  READ MORE…

Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has been told to get its act together without dragging its feet on critical issues.

Power and Renewable Energy Ministry Secretary Dr. Suren Batagoda, in a letter to CEB Chairman Anura Wijayapala, said that the slow progress taken on several issues could result in the country facing a power crisis in 2018.

Dr. Batagoda has also told the CEB management to be more cautious in their endeavours and take responsibility over their actions. READ MORE…

The rains have finally arrived and as it washes away all signs of the severe drought the island nation suffered not too long ago, it also takes away the serious concerns of our dependency on hydro power generation.

It is thus time we look at making power generation in Sri Lanka more sustainable, instead of waiting for the next drought to raise alarm bells once again.

Hydroelectricity normally accounts for around 40% of the island’s total power production, but during drought conditions that number can dip as low as 25%, according to Anura Wijayapala, Chairman, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

There is currently limited supplementary generation capacity to make up for hydro shortfalls. The CEB’s main coping strategy in these situations is to ramp up operations at the 900-megawatt (MW) Norochcholai power plant in Puttalam.  READ MORE…

Eng. Tuan Ismail (Electrical Engineer, NTDND&EIP) has won the Gold Medal for the heavy weight division of the 7th National Full Contact Karate Championship-2016(organized by Sri Lanka Karate-Do federation) which was held on 24.10.2016 at Sugathadasa stadium.  

The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union (CEBEU) ruled out the possibility of sabotage as the  Norochcholai coal power plant broke down once again last weekend. The breakdown led to power cuts island –wide. READ MORE …