Govt. to allow Power Wheeling Facility for new renewable power projects

By Nishel Fernando
The government has decided to grant Power Wheeling Facility for new renewable power projects in allowing renewable power operators utilize Ceylon Electricity Board transmission network to transmit power from their own renewable energy plants to meet their electricity demand elsewhere.
Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara on Monday sought the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to enable this facility based on a committee recommendation. 
This facility will exclusively be available for new Renewable Energy projects under the net metering method. The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has been granted with regulatory power to determine wheeling charges (Net Work Utilization Fee).

“This will enable large scale customers to meet their electricity requirements through generation from their own renewable energy plants situated elsewhere,” Minister Wijesekara stated. 
Power Wheeling Facility enables the customer to utilize an existing electricity supply from another location using the existing grid, subject to payment of a fee, reducing costs effectively. 
However, Power Wheeling Facility is currently not allowed in Sri Lanka. Hence, owners of power plants are forced to sell their electricity to CEB at the feed in price and to purchase electricity at a retail tariff to fulfill electricity requirements at different locations.
“For an example, if a mini-hydro plant is built in Kithulgala, the electricity can be transmitted  through the grid for the use of a factory in Ja-Ela as long it is also owned by the same party for his own use,” Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Bandula Gunawardana elaborated.