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| Sunday, 7 April 2002 |
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Higher electricity bills in the offing by ANTON NONIS The controversy of the government's decision to select a location for a coal power project has eased a little as two areas out of the earlier three has been decided on. While Norochcholai has been dropped off, it will either be Trincomalee or Hambantota. Both areas have favourable conditions, the project would be installed on the one which is economically feasible. Earlier it was thought that Norochcholai was the ideal location. Feasibility studies too were carried out for nearly four years at a cost of about Rs. 400 million. However, from the inception there had been protests against the coal power project in Norochcholai. The major obstacle came from the inhabitants in the area. The Christian community too, headed by the Bishop of Chilaw, Rt. Rev. Dr. Frank Marcus Fernando, were against. The main objections were based on security aspects. The other was on environmental pollution. Additional expenditure was incurred to assess the impact of environmental pollution if the project was installed. Investigations into the implications were carried out by a team of experts from Denmark. Research and analyses had shown that the impact on the environment to be minimal with regards to the protective measures to be taken. Power and Energy Minister Karu Jayasuriya last week announced clearly that Norochcholai has been dropped out. the decision was arrived on the instructions of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe. He had stated that the government was not prepared to carry out project at Norochcholai amidst protests by the public. At present, the government is involved in choosing the best among the remaining two areas. According to experts, if Trincomalee was selected, it would involve the construction of a jetty for the unloading of coal from ship. This in turn requires for the construction of a breakwater which would involve a considerable expense. As a result of this expenditure, the unit cost of electricity will rise. There would not be any other option left for the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) in recovering expenditure arising by the construction of a jetty other than passing it on to the consumer. "The consumer would have to face higher electricity bills," one source said. Comparatively, the situation in Hambantota might be entirely different. Now that the government is in favour of construction of an international harbour in Hambantota, the construction of breakwater and jetty are unavoidable issues. It has been pointed out that the breakwater and the jetty needed for an international harbour in the area could also be used for the unloading of coal from ships if a coal power project was to be installed in Hambantota. The expenditures then need not be passed on to the power consumers, it has been pointed out and the bills tend to remain low.According to Master Divers chairman Ariyaseela Wickremanayake, some of the other benefits in Hambantota are that the required depth for ships could be obtained within one kilometre from the shore line. It would not involve in the construction of a long conveyor belt in Hambantota for the conveyance of coal from ship. According to sources, the annual expenditure involved in the importation of petroleum products to the country is in the region of Rs.68 billion. Out of this amount, Rs.15 billion is for crude oil imports. The sources said that it indicates the need for Rs.53 billion for the importation of refined petroleum products. Wickremanayake says that the construction of a refinery has already been approved. As such, the expenditures involved in the importation of petroleum products would not arise and would be a total saving for the country. |
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