Electricity Act to be amended ensuring 100 per cent government stake in transmission, distribution

By Kelum Bandara 
The Energy Ministry will continue with the electricity  sector reforms process and necessary restructuring and unbundling of  electricity generation, transmission and distribution functions, and the  newly established Power Sector Reforms Secretariat (PSRS) is heading  to complete the transfer plan and unbundling by June 2025 following the  proposed amendment to the Electricity Act, an official said.  
Following the appointment of Pubudu Niroshan Hedigallage  who is an engineer as the Director General of PSRS, three other  members- Prof. Lilantha Samaranayake, Kosala Kamburadeniya (Engineer)  and Dr. Indra Mahakalanda- have been appointed to the PSRS.  
Hedigallage was a member of the NPP Energy Committee. He led  its energy forum in August, presenting the Energy Policy Framework 2024.  Prof. Samaranayake is the recently appointed Dean of Faculty of  Engineering of the University of Peradeniya. Eng. Kamburadeniya is the  President-Elect of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL) for  2024-25. All three were representing the IESL-appointed Power Sector  Reforms Committee during 2022-24. Dr. Mahakalanda is a senior lecturer  in the Department of Decision Science at the University of Moratuwa.  
“It is a widely discussed matter in political campaign that  NPP will amend the current Electricity Act enabling a people-centric  energy transition as per the mandate received twice from the people of  Sri Lanka in nearby two major elections. The proposed amendment will  ensure a 100 per cent government stake in transmission and distribution  sectors while introducing an Independent System Operator (ISO). All  existing CEB power plants will be kept under government without any  privatisation while enabling private investments for future electricity  generation options. Unbundling will first move to a strong single buyer  market with the ISO while the wholesale market and retail market are also on  the cards within a strategic timeline according to the gaining maturity  of the electricity generation and power grid.  
The electricity sector will be transformed into a  consumer-centric and democratic system by empowering consumers to become  educated and active participants as producers while establishing a  transparent and competitive window for public-private developers to  invest in energy projects,” Hedigallage said.