PUCSL expects CEB’s new long-term power generation plan within next 4 months

By Nishel Fernando
Sri Lanka’s power sector regulator Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) expects the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to submit a fresh Long-Term Generation Expansion Plan (LTGEP) in compliance with the government’s renewable power generation policies, within the next four months, while the CEB engineers continue to cast doubts of the viability of the renewable power ambitions.

“The CEB submitted a long-term generation plan without recognising the government’s policy to achieve 70 percent renewables in power generation by 2030. Therefore, we have given a six-month time period for them to come up with a new plan incorporating the government policy. So, they have another four more months to come up with the revised plan,” PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake told Mirror Business.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson of the CEB Engineers Union (CEBEU) questioned as to how the government is going to come up with the required financing for battery storage and transmission network upgrades, which are estimated to cost at least US $ 2.8 billion in order to meet the 70 percent renewable power generation target by 2030. 
“We are planning to achieve as much renewable energy as possible. Now the target is 70 percent renewables by 2030. We need upfront investments for battery storage of US $ 1.5 billion and another US $ 1.3 billion for transmission network upgrade. The CEB engineers are ready to achieve this target but do we have finance?” he questioned.

However, Ratnayake expressed his confidence that the required financing for grid and transmission network would be obtained in time while stressing that it should not be a concern of the CEB engineers.
He noted that the CEB was able to save almost Rs.500 billion from 2015 to 2020, as the PUCSL did not approve the emergency power purchasing, which was not necessary.

“If it is not under the PUCSL or Electricity Act, we will never allow. We are empowered and very independent. We don’t come under the influence of any political party or trade union,” he added.

Meanwhile, the CEBEU stressed the need for reliable power generation from energy sources such as LNG and coal for the sustainability of the country’s power sector while increasing the share of renewable power generation gradually.

“To achieve this target, we need to increase solar from 425MW to 4000MW and wind from 250MW to 1500MW. We also need firm LNG and coal. The fourth unit of Norochcholai is just an addition of 300MW, with infrastructure already in place. We need LNG and coal cake with solar and wind as the icing,” the CEBEU stated.