Power wheeling, mini grids, solution to rural electrification

by Lalin Fernandopulle

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) incurs a monthly loss of Rs. 480 per household through its rural electrification schemes. The loss per month for one million households will be Rs. 480 million and Rs. 5,760 million per annum. As the number of households increases the cost of electrification will surge to meet the additional power generation, said Chairman Hydropower International (Pvt) Ltd., Nishantha Nanayakkara.

Power wheeling and operation of isolated mini grids with or without a grid connection would be a solution to the rural electrification crisis. Though these options could be considered the CEB Act of 1969 does not permit the operation of isolated mini grids. The CEB does not permit power wheeling as someone could operate a power plant and provide power to an area using the national grid by paying the CEB for transmission and distribution charges.

The CEB has to produce at least 40 units during peak hours from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to distribute 30 units to a rural household. This is because the distribution loss to a rural household during peak hours is around 30 percent. The power generation cost per unit during peak hours is around Rs. 15 which includes overhead costs and capacity charges.

The CEB bears an additional cost by subsidising the first 30 units of electricity. The average rural household electricity consumption is not more than 30 units per month and they pay Rs. 120. The operation and maintenance of rural electricity schemes are a burden to the CEB. The CEB has to burden the consumers, industries and banks in the town to operate rural electrification schemes.

Due to the rich diversity and crop cultivation the people are scattered throughout the country. It is the duty of the government to provide essential services to all its citizens and get them involved in the growth machinery of the country. Electricity is a basic need of all people as it is essential to function all vital sectors in the country.

Nanayakkara said the government can promote isolated mini grids for renewable energy projects which generate power at a cost less than the average consumer tariff of Rs. 7.60. This will help the CEB to reduce the cost of power generation and focus on economically viable projects.

Today the CEB has imposed technical limitations on renewable energy developers saying that the grid substations are full and 33 KV lines (as long as 20 KMS) are needed to obtain power from mini hydro or dendro power projects. As a result the renewable energy industry has come to a standstill.

Director General, Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), Prof. Priyantha Wijayatunga said the electrification rate in Sri Lanka has grown from less than 10 percent on households in early 1970s to 75 percent by end 2005.

This is a remarkable achievement, particularly in the context of South Asia where we have the highest electrification rate next to the Maldives. In Bangladesh and Nepal the electrification rate is around 30 percent.

The CEB has done a great deal of work in providing electricity to rural areas during the past decades using government and donor assistance. It would be good to attract private sector investment in providing electricity to the rest of the 25 percent households in the country.