The unending power crisis

Against a huge increase in electricity tariff having been announced last month, the authorities are warning of longer hours of power cuts in the country, citing the unprecedented foreign exchange crisis. In spite of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), the country’s power regulator having cited last month’s tariff increase as 75% on average, the effect of it on the individual bills circulated among the domestic consumers paint a different picture. 

Almost all domestic consumers have received a bill with at least double the amount they paid in the previous month. In some cases it has been five-fold, prompting some of the leading Buddhist monks who have been compelled to pay hundreds of thousands of rupees for electricity being up in arms. While this controversy was raging in the media, the PUCSL had issued a statement on September 27 warning of possible lengthening of the ongoing 2-hour and 20-minute outages by “several hours” after the third unit at the LAKVIJAYA coal power plant in Norochcholai had to be shut down. However, later the authorities said that the issue at the LAKVIJAYA plant has been restored.

On August 15, Unit 1 at LAKVIJAYA was shut down, after which power cuts were extended from one hour and 20 minutes to three hours. The repair work on this unit took about two weeks. However, the regulator has been warning of further extensions due to the authorities’ failure to secure a coal supply for October 2022-2023.  Sri Lanka’s power crisis seems to be an eternal issue. Although the current economic meltdown and a prolonged drought were blamed for the recent power cuts including the one extended up to 13 hours in March provoking an unprecedented public outcry and an uprising, the power sector has been running at a loss and not transforming into law-cost generating methods for the past several years. Even after the recent tariff increase, the authorities claim that the consumers are still being subsidized. 

Always long-term solutions to the power crisis are being discussed and lofty targets are being set, but things are not moving in the right direction and the country is spending a colossal amount of foreign exchange for the power supply. Despite the Government having planned to use renewable energy sources to generate 70% of total power supply by 2030, in line with the ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’ policy framework of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, things do not seem to move. 

During a surprise visit to the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority at Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 7 on February 18 this year, President Rajapaksa questioned officials on the delay to approve renewable energy projects. On June 9, Kanchana Wijesekera, Minister of Power and Energy also in a tweet questioned “If the existing CEB Act does not need amendments and has the capability to implement renewable energy projects without delay, why did the CEB deprive many who had requested to do so for years?”

Meanwhile, the Auditor General’s Department too in a Performance Audit Report in February this year, raised concerns on the failure to achieve the country’s expected renewable energy generation targets and the delay in approving the renewable energy projects in the pipeline. “The guidelines introduced for the development of new renewable energy projects involve a very complex process. It should be a simpler and more effective method. The existing process has become a laborious and time consuming affair, as investors are unable to obtain the necessary approvals and licences. Developers must obtain approval from 10 relevant line agencies to obtain a Generation Licence. At the time of issuing the energy licence, the project developer has to renew the approvals obtained from the Central Environmental Authority, Forest Department and Wildlife Department due to expiration. Therefore, it is observed that a developer has to spend 2 to 5 years to obtain a generation licence,” the report said.
Apart from these delays, the CEB is accused of being always interested in purchasing power from the private sector. Occasionally, it is also being accused that some elements in the CEB is wasting water in the power generating reservoirs with a view to purchase electricity from the outsiders. The CID had launched an investigation into an illegal release of water from the Randenigala and Rantembe reservoirs from last June 8 midnight to 2.00 pm on June 9, while the country was facing a severe power crisis. Media reported that the investigations had revealed that the national power grid had to purchase electricity from two private thermal power plants at a cost of Rs.162 million due to this malicious act to release water from the reservoir. That was it!  It is interesting to note that the occasional allegations about corruption, delays in the power sector and sabotages of transformation to renewable energy are always short-lived. Even the ministers in question give into what is going on after a brief outcry. 

Yet, electricity has already made an adverse impact on the economy and thereby on the lives of the people. In fact, the power cuts were the immediate issue that provoked the public uprising in March. No bailout projects by the IMF or any other world entity would work, unless the country possesses a people-friendly power sector.