Pathetic power

Sri Lanka’s ongoing power cuts have thrown light on the dim underbelly of politicking that has become so agenda-driven that national interest has been replaced by blatant self-interest.  

The cost is being paid by everyone. Shops are struggling to keep their goods fresh, businesses are suffering hours of shutdown, garment factories are struggling to meet their orders, and bakeries are throwing out entire batches of half-baked bread. The Government, after months of ignoring the problem, was callous enough to forego announcing a power cut schedule so that people could at least prepare for the load shedding. This alone is enough to get a measure of how insensitive and out of touch the ruling class has become. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. 

Sri Lanka has not commissioned a single power project since 2007, which was when Norochcholai was completed. For 12 years, politicians, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), unions, and Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) have failed in their mandate though they were amply warned of the pending disaster. 

Initially the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) battled against the exclusion of coal in the Least Cost Generation Expansion Plan (LCGEP), which detailed about 13 power plants it was supposed to implement with PUCSL oversight. The ensuing battle over coal held up projects for years even though most countries are now rapidly exiting coal due to its pollution issues. A compromise of one third coal, one third LNG, and one third renewables as the framework for Sri Lanka’s power sector was eventually reached in 2018 between stakeholders even though Sri Lanka is a signatory to the Paris climate accord. 

But Sri Lanka was still far from the light. CEB engineers began boycotting sitting on Technical Evaluation Committees shortly after the Government change in 2015. This meant most power projects were not even tendered, much less commissioned. 

Solar companies recently revealed that plans to add over 1400 MW of power through private projects was held up for four years due to the Mexican standoff between the CEB, its unions, the Power Ministry and private sector. The CEB had refused to purchase a solar unit for Rs. 22 but has no issue spending Rs. 35 to Rs. 50 a unit for extended thermal power generation during power shortages.   

Solar power, which has taken off elsewhere in the world, still makes up about 1% of Sri Lanka’s generation because policymakers refuse to back it. Solar power producers contend that this is largely because their companies are too small to aggressively lobby with officials and cannot afford the hefty commissions that often accompany successful tenders. Proposals to have LNG power plants have more powerful backers but the behind-the-scenes horse trading has stymied them as well. Proposals for wind and heavy fuel (HFO) have also met the same sorry end. Under the LCGEP, 1000 MW were supposed to be added from Government projects alone. 

Many experts agree that power shortages are deliberately manufactured by politicians and powerful officials because they benefit from lucrative spot purchases. It is unforgivable that the Power Ministry called for emergency power in end-January but failed to implement it even after providers were selected. This Government also decided to commission two plants from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) after the power cuts of 2012 but failed to get that off the ground as well. At least now the Government has to turn around the incompetence and mismanagement, stop critical stakeholders pulling in different directions, and commission th