SLPP back CEB engineers in blaming PUCSL for power crisis

By Nuwan Senarathna 

Solar power generation can be used as a low-cost short term solution for the power crisis, while exploring more sustainable methods to cater to growing demand in the long run, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Engineers’ Union said yesterday. 

“The country should look for cheaper and reliable solutions to address the crisis in the short term. If the Government had a proper long term plan, the current power crisis would not have risen,” SLPP Electrical Engineers’ Union Executive Member Malaka Gunasekara told reporters at the SLPP Head Office in Battaramulla.

He noted the country should consider setting up coal power plants as a midterm solution for the power demand, as such plants can be used for nearly 20 years. Gunasekara claimed that renewable energy sources other than hydropower are not a sustainable solution to meet the rapidly increasing demand.

“If we look at the global scenario, countries don’t use renewable for more than 10% of entire power generation, therefore we cannot except to use solar energy or wind power to meet rapidly increasing demand,” he added.

Defending his claims, Gunasekara noted that carbon emission of the coal power plants and diesel power plants were the same, and therefore building a coal power plant would be the ideal solution for the midterm power demand.  

Gunasekara claimed the Government and other regulatory bodies had also failed to deliver an acceptable solution for the rapidly increasing demand during the last four years. “Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) delayed giving approval for the Long term Generation Plan submitted for 2014-2034 by Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB). PUCSL took 17 months to approve the plan, which cannot be accepted.”

He claimed fingers cannot pointed at the engineers, claiming that they had not failed to forecast the demand and proposed solutions for it, but the delays of the PUCSL and the Government had been the cause for the power crisis.