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| Sunday, 22 December 2002 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Prioritise coal power plant project This is in response to an article in the Business Section of Sunday Observer of December 8. "It is now curious as to why Mr. D. G. D. C. Wijayaratne, General Manager CEB has finally come to the conclusion that coal power is the need of the hour" says Dr. M. G. Dissanayake writing from Ontario, Canada. The need for a coal power station need not have arisen in the eleventh hour, if the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) had their generation priorities and methods of implementation put in place in a more and a proper and a logical basis. Let us examine the priorities given by the CEB especially in the wake of International Energy experts and the funding institutions such as the World Bank, ADB and others from mid 1970 drawing attention to the requirement of suitable coal generation facility to act as a counter balance to the extensive dependency on Hydro power by the CEB. Such requirement was well identified at the time of initiating the Mahaweli Ganga Development Project under which all-large Hydro power stations such as Kotmale, Victoria, Randenigala etc. were undertaken. Generation planning for reasons better known to selected CEB engineers were based on the use of diesel as a means of thermal generation. The purchase of the first thermal generation plant of large capacity was undertaken in the early 1980s by the CEB under the leadership of Prof. K. K. Y. W. Perera who advocated priority and usage of liquid fuel guzzling engines of an un-proven performance data. The calamity of such engines seizing and breaking down at Sapugaskanda 80 MW Power Station commissioned in the year 1984 not only contributed to the first power cuts in Sri Lanka but also to the penalising of the CEB consumers in the form of a fuel surcharge. From this period onwards generation was purely based on liquid fuel burning gas turbines and diesel engines. The CEB power planners conveniently suppressed activities related to the setting-up of a coal fired power station that was commenced in the mid 1970s. While the entire nation was aware that a war prevailed in the Northern and Eastern region of our Island the CEB power planners conveniently expressed the requirement to set-up a coal power plant at Trincomalee under the guise that Trincomalee was the only site at which a coal power plant could be built. Whenever it was convenient to propagate their plans of implementing diesel generation the war in the North and East was conveniently used to defer the implementation of a coal power plant by repeating that Trincomalee is the only suitable site for such power station. Experienced and knowledgeable engineers such as Mr. Carlo Fernando and other Engineers who were periodically sent over to Australia and Europe to obtain knowledge with regard to coal power stations and their operations were not allowed to make any contribution with regard to generation planning within the CEB. These engineers who obtained extensive knowledge on coal power stations were reassigned menial duties such as looking after the CEB logistics and maintenance of the CEB head office where by providing no opportunity to dispense the knowledge acquired at the cost of the CEB and the country. Veterans such as Engineer Carlo Fernando were compelled to leave the CEB with no extensions granted to their service while many others have left the country in disgust. The relentless pursuit of developing diesel based generating facilities culminated with the purchase of the ill-fated Fiat gas turbine. The enormous cost in operating this machine not to mention the excessive consumption of expensive fuels by the other installed thermal facilities at the CEB resulted in the well-published financial deficits of eight billion rupees. While the past regime was unwilling to pursue the repairs of this ill fated Fiat gas turbine due to excessive cost of repairs and operation, the CEB management headed by its General Manager has forced the arm of the Minister into undertaking such un-viable exercise. While excitement is expressed in the restarting of this Fiat gas turbine, is the Government and the Minister aware of the financial drain of CEB funds that has been expended in the repair and the operation of this machine? Although a loud noise has been made with regard to the repair and operation of this machine why is the CEB and its Management inclusive of it's GM so silent with regard to the cost of generating a unit of electricity from this gas turbine? Not satisfied in such failures CEB Power Generation Plan was continued on the setting-up of gas turbine based generating facilities. The current episode in which the CEB has undertaken the construction and operation of a 160 MW combined cycle power plant at Kelanitissa under aid given by the Government of Japan is yet to be handed over to the CEB despite a delay of well over one year. Although CEB stated that this combined Cycle power plant would be operated on the left over Naphtha from the refinery at Sapugaskanda to produce cheaper electricity what is observed is the incapability of these machines to operate viably on such fuels. Hence the delay by the contractor to hand over such power station to the CEB. With regards to the cost of electricity from this power station and its reliability to supply electrify continuously is therefore any body's guess. By embarking on the setting-up of such wasteful and unsuited power generating facilities the CEB and its generation planning unit has even upto now succeeded in misguiding successive governments while ignoring the requirement of a coal fired power station. Whenever efforts were made by concerned engineers, politicians and citizens of our country to initiate the construction of a coal power plant, the CEB power planners adopted their favoured tactic of indulging lengthy site studies. When it was obvious that no development could be made in the then war ridden area in Trincomalee, the CEB without engaging themselves in a viable location of which many are available in the South of the Island proceeded in selecting an un-viable site at Noraichcholai to produce ridiculous and impractical designs of building four kilometre jetty's and unloading coal in mid-ocean into barges knowing very well that such practice is totally un-viable. Although an independent inquiry was to be held as to how and why the CEB spent a sum of 500 million rupees for such wasteful activities and the purchase of non functioning gas turbines, what is observed is that certain bureaucrats at the Ministry of Power & Energy with the assistance of the CEB Management has successfully swept such issues under the carpet. Energy experts and other professionals have repeatedly illustrated the requirement of a coal power station in obtaining a stable and affordable generating facility. Despite pointing out the obvious with examples of coal usage in other countries it is disturbing to find the CEB generation expansion plans are yet based on the establishment of liquid fuel burning power plants. In their adamant and highhanded manner in pursuing their plans it is now proposed to set-up a 300 MW gas turbine based power station at Kerawalapitiya. This repeated fallacy of setting-up combined cycle power stations in spite of the ample example of similar power station at Kelanitissa is being ignored. The generation plan has been based on bogus assumptions that the CEB would require six to eight years to construct a coal power plant, in justifying the use of gas turbine based power stations. Modern technology and capable contractors are able to build and place a coal power plant within a short period of 36 to 42 months as demonstrated by the construction of a 600 MW coal power station in Vietnam and the construction of 1200 MW in Turkey. The remarks now made by the General Manager of the CEB as published in the Sunday Observer of December 8 that "Coal Power is the need of the hour" is rather cynical when it is noted from the latest generation expansion planning studies that little or no priority has been given in realising a coal power station prior to Year 2008. It is also disturbing to find that the Energy Supply Committee (ESC) has been guided to place large advertisements requesting Expressions of Interests to select a developer for a 900 MW Coal Power Development Project. Although the caption of such invitation states the development of a coal power plant, the contents of the notice states that alternative fuels could be proposed if so desired. Advertisement and notices stating such ambiguous requirements display the covert intent at the CEB to delay if not sabotage the setting-up of a coal power plant. The CEB's requirement that proposals should be made now to bring about 900 MW at the end of ten years will not allow any reputed developer to propose a viable solution as developers are not "Soothsayers" to predict applicable prices a decade hence. The publication of such notices calling for expressions of interest is therefore seen as a deliberate effort to forestall and to place the development of a coal power plant in the distant future allowing the CEB power planners to indulge in their perverse activities in setting up of gas turbine based power plants that produce expensive electricity. The electricity costs in Sri Lanka is amongst the highest in Asia requiring commercial, industrial and other large volume consumers to pay exorbitant rates of over Rupees Fifteen per unit of electricity as a result of blindly implementing generation plans as made and undertaken by the CEB. To proceed in the same manner and to place the first coal power plant in the year 2008 as now proposed by the CEB with additional quantities of gas turbine based power stations being built between now and then will result in consumers paying a sum of rupees thirty to forty per unit. May our blessed land of Sri Lanka be protected from such unwanted calamity and may the blessings of the triple gem guide the Government of Sri Lanka and the Minister of Power & Energy to take the correct steps in initiating the development of a coal power plant without delay so that cheap electricity would be available for the prosperity of our country with the on-set of peace and harmony brought about by the Government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Dr. M. G. Dissanayake, Ontario, Canada. |
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