CEBEU threatens island wide strike over govt.’s move to amend Electricity Act

• Says it is aimed at facilitating Adani’s 500MW unsolicited wind power project proposal 

The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union (CEBEU) has decided to go for an island wide strike over the government’s move to amend the Electricity Act, which would clear the path for Adani’s Group’s proposal for the 500MW  Wind Power Project in Mannar and Poonarin to materialise without following the due process.

The CEBEU claimed that the proposed Electricity Act amendment which is scheduled to be taken up on 9th of this month, would put an end to competitive tendering of power projects in the country, paving the way for corruption, while depriving local investors.

“The main purpose behind this is Adani’s proposal for 500 MW Wind Power Project in Mannar and Poonarin in Sri Lanka,” CEBEU official told Mirror Business.

Accordingly, the CEBEU is planning to go for an island wide strike with effect from midnight today.
CEB Chairman M.M.C. Ferdinando addressing a press conference on Monday urged the government to follow the due process in granting approval to Adani Group’s proposal for the 500MW Wind Power Project.

According to him, Adani Group has already completed feasibility studies for the project and is believed to have been submitted to CEB engineers for evaluation. However, CEBEU denies the submission of any feasibility study to the CEB by Adani Group.

Further, CEBEU pointed out that it’s impossible to complete a feasibility study in such a short period of time even for a resource-rich multi-billion dollar organisation such as Adani Group, given the environmentally-sensitive nature of the project’s location which is a key habitat for migrant birds. CEBEU noted that it would take a minimum of one and half years to complete the feasibility study. According to Ferdinando, Adani Green Energy Ltd, a unit of Adani Group had signed a Memorandum of Understanding

(MOU) for renewable power energy generation projects in Sri Lanka with State entities which includes CEB, Sustainable Energy Authority, Treasury and Board of Investment (BOI) in November last year.

Further, CEBEU also expressed concerns over the moves to grant tariff rates to Adani Group in US$, given the country’s present forex crisis. Moreover, it claimed that the government is preparing to allow a tariff rate to Adani which is twice over what is granted to Asian Development Bank (ADB) - funded Thambapavani wind power project.

If the government follows the due process, Ferdinando said it is up to CEB engineers to determine the tariff rate, which then has to be approved by the PUCSL. However, he noted that BOI and the Treasury can decide to provide the tariff to Adani in US$, as it falls outside the purview of both PUCSL and CEB.