• The various renewable power generation plans have been in the drawing board for several decades using solar, wind and tidal surge power 

By Sandun A. Jayasekera

Though President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the government were committed to use 70% of renewable energy for power generation by 2030, certain top officials of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and in the power and energy sector were not coming forward to meet that ambitious target, cabinet spokesman, Plantation Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana said yesterday.   

If Sri Lanka was to come out of the power and energy sector mess, there must be a contingency plan for long term power generation, he added.   

Minister Dr. Pathirana told the weekly post cabinet news briefing that the various renewable power generation plans have been in the drawing board for several decades using solar, wind and tidal surge power for long term power generation, but have failed to put them into action, leading to the current power crisis.   “It is sad to note that there has not been a single power generation project commissioned during the yahapalana regime since 2015. When we talk about renewable energy and utilising of solar or wind power for power generation, there is no encouragement from the top officials involved in power generation. Surprisingly, they are interested only in thermal power, coal power and replenish the gap for electricity from private suppliers through long term contracts or from spot purchases,” Minister Dr. Pathirana noted.