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Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardena
Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera
By Charumini de Silva
Sri Lanka is likely to face another power crisis due to issues surrounding the procurement of coal quantities necessary to generate electricity in the next three months.
Hours after Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardena defended the already awarded coal tender citing lower prices, the Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera announced it was cancelled by the Cabinet Ministers at its meeting on Thursday.
The decisions of the two Ministers were also not included in the official statement comprising the Weekly Cabinet Decisions issued by the Government Information Department.
These conflicting statements issued by the two Ministers were further confusing the irked 7.8 million electricity users who are already frustrated with the exorbitant bills and extended power cuts announced till Sunday.
During the post-Cabinet meeting media briefing, Minister Gunawardena said the Power and Energy Minister Wijesekera has been vested with necessary authorities, adding that the Cabinet Ministers approved to appoint a Cabinet Sub-Committee to take any paramount decisions to avoid 10-12 hour blackouts that may further deteriorate the economy.
Revealing that a conspiratorial plan was afoot to deprive the importation efforts of coal on time, Minister Gunawardena said no room will be left for those who try to sabotage the Government's plans.
“Given the technical and legal issues if Sri Lanka fails to import coal on time it would lead to a severe energy crisis with longer power outages of 10-12 hours. Thus, we approved the aforementioned decisions to fast-track the proactive measures to prevent a forced shutdown of the power plants which would otherwise lead to extended power cuts,” he said.
When asked if payments necessary to procure coal quantities have been allocated or paid, the Cabinet Co-Spokesman gave a vague answer.
“This is why necessary powers were vested on the Minister and Sub-Committee,” he added.
Separately, Power and Energy Minister Wijesekera announced via Twitter the selected coal supplier has communicated the inability to perform the tender, citing concerns about the impact on legal cases filed and payment guarantee risk.
Against this backdrop, he said the Lanka Coal Company will float a fresh International Open Competitive Tender that will allow any suitable supplier that can provide coal on a long-term credit basis.
“To fulfil the immediate requirements, the balance 19 cargos from last year›s tender will be advanced,” Wijesekera said.
On 25 August, Lanka Coal Co. Ltd., called for tenders for the procurement of 4,500,000 tons of coal and the revelations thereafter have stirred much controversy since then.
The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka and the Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union separately warned the public about extended daily power cuts, if coal is not imported by early next month.
Noting that the available stocks were only sufficient till 25 October and if the Government or Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is not allowed to import, there is a high possibility that the 900 MW Norochcholai power plant will be forced into a shutdown, resulting in long power cut hours.
The PUCSL Chief Janaka Ratnayake however said the country needs $ 100 million in the immediate future to import coal, noting the remaining stocks will only be sufficient till 20-25 October.
On Thursday, the PUCSL also approved CEB’s request for two hours and 20 minutes till Sunday, a decision which shocked many, as the regulator on Wednesday affirmed the power cut will not be extended for over two hours.
Many electricity users claimed neither the Government nor the electricity regulator can be trusted given their uncertain decisions.
“The PUCSL earlier this month said Sri Lanka can manage with one-hour power cuts till the end of the year given the generation mix. They have become a laughingstock,” they said.
The electricity users lamented the ad-hoc policy changes and for not considering the adverse impacts it has on the majority of the people’s lives.
“Overnight they increased electricity tariffs after many stakeholders urged the authorities to postpone it considering the economic crisis and soaring cost of living. Now, even after paying for high electricity bills amidst all the difficulties, there is no continuous supply,” they charged.
Recalling that the PUCSL categorically said the revenue collected via increased tariffs will generate a sufficient income for CEBs, they claimed extended power cuts were an unfair decision on electricity users.
“We hope the much-needed tariff hike will help the CEB to generate over Rs. 500 billion by end of this year and will not be in a dire financial position again,” Ratnayake told journalists on 9 August.
Pointing out that the very reason for the economic crisis is a result of the ad-hoc policies, they claimed the authorities still fail to live up to their words.
“Why cannot they supply uninterrupted power? It is not the lower-scale electricity users who have not paid their bills, but the big businessmen and Ministers. Suspend their power supply first because they run the air conditions for comfort, not the middle-class who are struggling to just survive and educate the children with a light bulb,” they alleged.
