The Government has already achieved the target of hundred percent electrification in the country and there is hardly a village without power in Sri Lanka at present, Power and Renewable Energy, Deputy Minister Ajith P. Perera said. Last year alone, 262,000 new electricity connections were provided at a cost of Rs. 6 billion under the project ‘Electricity for all, the Deputy Minister told the Sunday Observer yesterday.
When asked what the Government’s plans were to meet the challenge over the expected power shortage in 2020, Deputy Minister Perera said they are well aware of the challenges and the Government has a long term power generation plan for this.
“Even though, there are some delays, we are working hard to realize our targets,” he said. He said the Ministry was able to add 118 MW of solar energy to the national grid last year and added that they are continuing work on solar, wind and LNG energy.
Deputy Minister Perera said they called open international tenders for a 300 MW power plant.
Unfortunately, there was an issue about the tender and there was a dispute with the Technical Evaluation Committee and the Tender Committee as well. Ultimately, there was no successful bidder. Now the Ministry is submitting another Cabinet paper seeking advice from the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, a 300 MW LNG power plant will be built and steps will be taken to add more solar energy to the national grid. The Ministry hopes to call tenders for power plants up to 870 MW within the next three to four months.
The Deputy Minister said the Government has also prioritised plans to harness wind power.
There will be 170 MW wind power park in Pooneryn, Jaffna while another 100 MW wind power plant is under construction in Mannar island. In addition, there are two other 10 MW wind power plants in the Jaffna peninsula.