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Thursday, 23 May 2019 03:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Government this week gave approval to for the controversial proposal to procure 400 Mega Watts (MW) of emergency power from two barges stationed in Kerawalapitiya and Galle.
The procurement of 400 MW which was subject controversy as some Cabinet members earlier opposed the move will be for a total of nine months, Department of Information said in a statement issued on Cabinet decisions.
Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) will be purchasing power from the floating plant off Kerawalapitiya at Rs. 26.20 for six months from June. CEB will purchase another 200 MW from Galle for nine months from September. The CEB will have to first build the transmission line to connect the floating plant off Galle which is expected to take three months’ time.
According to sources, the Finance Ministry has said that the purchase price has to be capped at Rs. 26.20 with no room for revision.
In April, Power, Energy and Business Development Minister Ravi Karunanayake got approval to purchase 200 MW of electricity from a barge-mounted power ship off Kerawalapitiya, but later presented a second Cabinet paper revising the purchase price to Rs. 26.20 which was subjected to criticism as the paper also sought to give the supplier – a Turkish Company – tax concessions and license to import Heavy Fuel Oil which has not been allowed to any other power producer in the country.
The proposal made by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was based on the recommendations given by the Ministerial Committee to ensure continuous supply of electricity. The Committee appointed by the Cabinet to recommend short-term, medium-term and long-term measures to address the current electricity crisis is chaired by the Prime Minister.
According to the Information Department the members of the Committee are Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, Highways and Roads Development and Petroleum Resources Development Minister Kabir Hashim and Ports and Naval and Southern Development Minister Sagala Ratnayake.
It was not immediately clear if there was a need to procure 400 MW from two barges, as the technical capacity for transmission was limited in Kerawalapitiya. Sources also said that country’s transmission network does not have the capacity to absorb a total of 400 MW more from Kerawalapitiya and Galle as proposed.
The Turkish company which presented a proposal for a barge-mounted power ship earlier had made the condition that the Kerawalapitiya plant has to run at 70% capacity. However the transmission network does not have the capacity to receive the power, technical experts have pointed out.
According to sources, the conditions in the proposal reduce the plant factor of Kerawalapitiya to 50% and Galle to 65% which will now total at 230 MW. However the Government is yet to finalise the conditions of the two agreements, with new feasibility studies to be carried out by the CEB.
Some members of the Cabinet on earlier occasions raised concern about procuring large volumes of emergency power without competitive bidding. Under Sri Electricity law, the Cabinet of Ministers can approve emergency power without competitive tender. In April this year, the Cabinet approved a proposal by the Prime Minister based on recommendations made by the Ministerial Committee to declare an emergency situation under section 43 4 (c) 11 of the Sri Lanka Electricity Act No. 31 of 2013.
