The President\u2019s Office has asked the independent Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) to approve the Ceylon Electricity Board\u2019s (CEB) long-term generation plan which includes multiple coal power plants.
\nThe advice was given in a letter from his Secretary Austin Fernando to PUCSL Chairman Saliya Mathew. It was issued after an April 25 meeting at which President Maithripala Sirisena claimed he had never opposed more coal power plants being built. The PUCSL is expected to convene on Wednesday to discuss the development.<\/p>\n
The CEB Engineers\u2019 Union (CEBEU) is locked in a protracted standoff with PUCSL over its refusal to approve the utility\u2019s original Least Cost Long-Term Generation Expansion Plan (LTGEP) on grounds that coal-power plants are against policy. Instead, the regulator prevailed upon the CEB to draft a fresh proposal that excluded coal\u2013and was based on major hydro, mini hydro, solar, wind, biomass, natural gas, furnace oil-based power and gas turbine power\u2013and approved that last year.
\nBut the CEBEU is battling to have its original plan sanctioned by the regulator. The union\u2019s efforts have now received impetus from the President\u2019s office. The meeting on April 25 was convened to discussion the generation plan and was attended by three Ministers and officials of the Ministry of Power and Energy, PUCSL, CEB and CEBEU.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President asked PUCSL Chairman why the CEB\u2019s LTGEP was rejected,\u201d said an official who was present. \u201cThe Chairman quoted a CCEM (Cabinet Committee on Economic Management) decision stating that \u2018there will be no more coal power plants in the country as decided by H E the President\u2019.\u201d The CCEM was headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
\nVisibly angry, President Sirisena shot back that he had decided no such thing; and that it was wrong for him to be quoted in CCEM minutes without his written commitment or the facts being verified from him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also said, for the second time, that he is not against hi-tech [Japanese], environment friendly coal power so long as these are built in keeping with the country\u2019s environmental laws and regulations,\u201d the official said. \u201cThe first time he said this was in May 2017, at a meeting with the CEBEU.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the President\u2019s office may have advised the PUCSL to take action, the regulator is an independent commission which\u2013at least legislatively\u2013is protected from political interference. However, the CEBEU is now intensifying pressure on Mr Mathew to sack Director General Damitha Kumarasinghe, blaming him for bringing the PUCSL to \u201cgradual disrepute\u201d.
\nThis week, the union wrote to Mr Mathew saying it will launch a \u201cnon-cooperation action\u201d with PUCSL from Tuesday \u201cuntil staff members with an unblemished record and highest professional integrity are appointed to the topmost paid posts of the PUCSL\u201d.<\/p>\n
The CEBEU will boycott all meetings with PUCSL, not respond to letter or requests and \u201cnot keep any sort of communication with you\u201d, the letter said. It will also keep away from any other meetings that are attended by Mr Kumarasinghe.
\nThe union will also start a work-to-rule campaign on the same day demanding approval of the CEB\u2019s LTGEP and Mr Kumarasinghe\u2019s removal. This means engineers will not carry out maintenance after 4.15 pm and, if their demands remain unmet, withdraw from night duty in control centers of power stations. \u201cThe most critical effect of this will be prolonged outages,\u201d a spokesman said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, activists decried \u201cpressure tactics\u201d being used by CEB professionals to reverse the no-coal policy. They said engineers, in a note to CEBEU membership on April 18, had claimed that the price of coal-based generation was Rs 7.90 per kilowatt hour (kWh) when compared with Rs 14.80 per kWh for gas-based power.<\/p>\n
However, according to the latest bulk supply tariff (BST) submission made by the CEB to PUCSL for October-December 2017, the cost per unit of coal-based generation from Lakvijaya is Rs 14.53 to 14.74 per kWh.<\/p>\n
The same submission states that the energy cost for Norochcholai is Rs 8.87 per kWh. \u201cThis indicates that CEBEU figures merely refer to energy cost,\u201d said one analyst. \u201cCoal power plants carry significant fixed and variable overheads.\u201d
\nThe cost cited for gas-based generation (Rs 14.80 per kWh) is based on the Kerawalapitiya LNG-powered electricity generation tender. \u201cBut this figure includes fuel, operational costs, finance costs and profit for the power plant owner based on the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) methodology,\u201d the analyst explained. \u201cThus, comparing this figure with the un-sourced figure of Rs 7.90, which appears to be a projected fuel cost, is inappropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n
The PUCSL also published actual generation costs for September 2017 based on CEB submissions, indicating that Lakvijaya coal based generation is Rs 14.00 per kWh. It said these did not include debt-servicing since the loan for the plant sits with the Treasury.<\/p>\n
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