Govt. kicks off preliminary discussions on possible power sharing with South Asia

Friday, 14 October 2016 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Power and Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya in talks with Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) Executive Secretary Dr. Shamshad Akhtar

Sri Lanka yesterday kicked off preliminary discussions on sharing excess power with other South Asian countries as part of a fresh policy being considered by the Government, the Power and Energy Ministry said in a statement.

Power and Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya had discussions with Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) Executive Secretary Dr. Shamshad Akhtar to outline Sri Lanka’s future power generation plans, which would have a refocused push towards renewables.

“UNESCAP would look forward to share Sri Lanka’s experiences in power generation as it is the only South Asian country to have electricity around the clock and come close to universal access,” Dr. Akhtar was quoted as saying in the statement.

Once Sri Lanka has achieved universal coverage it can consider reducing prices and increasing quality by looking at power sharing agreements with the rest of South Asia. Reasonably priced power is one of the key drivers of growth and despite large coverage, Sri Lanka’s power prices remain among the highest in Asia.

Sri Lanka’s power regulator this week welcomed a possible move to lay an undersea power cable connecting India and Sri Lanka, which it believes will give the country access to a larger energy market and purchase electricity at lower prices, with discussions between the two parties on the revised proposal likely to take place later this month.

The proposal to establish a submarine power cable line for 500 MW of power, which is under discussion between the two countries, will give Sri Lanka an opportunity to buy electricity at a cheaper rate, connecting the island to other South Asian countries as well.

Previous attempts had been bottlenecked by parties that were concerned that Sri Lanka may become dependent on India by giving the regional giant greater influence in the island, but such concerns were dismissed by Kumarasinghe, who pointed out that such links already existed in Europe, the United States and the Indian subcontinent without causing any issues between countries.

Indian national publication The Hindu Business Line on Tuesday said that the Indian Government was reconsidering the project.

The project was not deemed feasible earlier as its estimated cost was $ 554 million. However, a revision of the line route for the submarine cable line was estimated at $ 372 million. The proposal for the revised route has been given to Indian officials for evaluation, Power and Renewable Energy Ministry Development Director Sulakshana Perera said.

The original proposal was to lay a 120-km-long submarine cable however the revision proposes an overhead line 50 km in length, making the project feasible, he explained.

“The ministry is in agreement with establishing a subsea power cable for 500 MW, but we have to evaluate the feasibility of the option. Discussions with Indian ministry officials regarding the revised proposal will be held later this month,” he added.