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| Sunday, 3 October 2004 |
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Minister urges people to save energy By Gamini Warushamana People should voluntarily make an effort to save energy while making the optimal use of available energy resources to face the energy crisis that has occured as a result of the oil shock. These were the comments made by Minister of Power and Energy Susil Premajayanth addressing the annual get together of the Small Power Developers Association on Thursday (30). The minister said that even as a crude oil producing country, Malaysia has already started to switch off streetlights early and thus minimise energy wastage. The Thai government also appealed to the nation on September 25 to reduce energy wastage on all fronts to face the crisis. The Minister said that as an oil-importing country Sri Lanka has no other option to face the crisis but save energy. The country's electricity generation is largely dependent on thermal power and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is in heavy debt as a result of subsidising the electricity. The Minister said that the CEB faces two problems. One is the power generation and the second is the financial problem. If the CEB was able to solve the power generation problem in the past with a long term plan the present financial crisis would not have arisen. Before the year 1999 the CEB was earning a surplus. After 1999 hydropower generation decreased while the demand steadily increased. Due to various obstacles Upper Kotmale project and the coal power projects have delayed and country has to depend on high cost thermal power generation. All who failed to solve the power generation problem of the country is responsible for the present power crisis. "If we don't take a correct decision at least now the whole country will have to suffer in the future," the Minister warned. As a substitute to thermal power renewable energy is very important and government will encourage all forms of renewable energy generation. Cabinet has approved a renewable energy development policy and a institution will be set up to handle all the procedures of renewable energy projects from designing to implementation the minister said. President of the Small Power Developers Association Dr. Nihal Nanayakkara said that small hydropower and dendro thermal and wind power are the three commercially viable renewable energy sources in Sri Lanka. Apart from that Sri Lanka is blessed with possessing the world's best resources locations for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), the unlimited energy source, which is going to be the world power generation technology by 2025. The world trend is having energy security in ones own country by promoting its own energy resources. Sri Lanka doesn't have any energy resources other than renewable energy, but Sri Lanka is the only country which neither has any authority exclusively for promoting its own energy resources nor accepted policy and government backing towards the development of its own resources for power generation Dr. Nanayakara accused. Small hydropower developers provide 65 MW to the national grid through 25 micro hydro power projects. In year 2003 these projects have provided 120 GWh and is expected to add 175 Gwh to the national grid this year. The recomendations of the Small hydro power developers association are Including renewable energy expansion plan in the national power generation plan and allocate capacity in MW, allocate expected generation from renewable energy in GWh in the year expansion plan and take measures to achieve the target, carry out proper study to identify sites, establish a separate authority namely Renewable Energy Development Authority, carry out detail technical studies in renewable energy generation, government guarantee to purchase the output, solve distribution problems and government financial support. |
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