Sri Lanka will export electricity soon

By Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Sri Lanka, a nation which was tagged as having the highest electricity tariffs, will soon become a country offering the lowest electricity rates.

In addition, for the first time in the history of the country, Sri Lanka would also be in a position to export electricity to neighbouring countries.

The main reason for this huge turn around is the initiative taken by the government to power the electricity sector.

Power generation projects that never got off the ground citing controversy ware launched by the government and some of these are almost nearing completion.

Upper Kotmale hydro power plant project will harness the nature's gift for economic prosperity of the nation, uplift the living standards of the local community, and epitomize development in harmony.

This hydropower project, with an installed capacity of 150MW (consisting of two 75MW units) will produce 409GWh per year.

The development of the Upper Kotmale Hydro Power Project UKHP will change the socio-economic situation in this area.

The UKHP will provide the local areas with a number of environmental and social benefit both during the construction phase and operation phase.

While the local social benefits will be largely confined to the area around Talawakelle town, the wider benefits of watershed management will extend to the whole of the upper basin.

Another ambitious project was the inauguration of the Uma Oya Multipurpose Project in Sri Lanka.

The project will involve the construction of two reservoirs on tributaries of the Uma Oya River and one tunnel on the river itself to divert water to a powerhouse further downstream. Once completed, the project will have the capacity to generate 90 MW of electricity and irrigate 5,000 hectares of agricultural land.

The project is estimated to cost US$16 billion. The Government of Sri Lanka is financing the project with US$450 million from Iran.

Kerawalapitiya Thermal Power Plant is another landmark power generation project launched by the government. The 200 megawatt power plant, built at a cost of US$ 300 million, will expand production to 300 megawatts within a year.

Another project that would contribute towards meeting the projected 11 percent future demand of the local power sector is the construction of Sampur coal power plant which is expected to provide 1000 Mega Watts (MW) to the national grid.

A total of 700 acres of land has been earmarked for the project that will also provide 500MW to the national grid by 2012.

The construction work of the proposed coal power plant will be carried out by the Indian Company NPTC under the supervision of Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

The first phase of the construction is estimated to cost US $500 million and 70% of the cost is expected to be covered by foreign aid while the rest is to be provided by the CEB and the Indian Company.

A jetty is to be built at Sampur to unload the coal from the ships. The government believes that the project would contribute to economic development in the district and it would provide 4000 job opportunities," a Power and Energy Ministry statement said.

Meanwhile over 70 percent work on the first stage of the Norochocholai Coal Power Project designed to append 300 mega watts to the national grid has now been completed.

This was yet another project which was in the pipeline for almost a decade and no leader wanted to go ahead with it due to the controversy the project generated.

However the President ironed out the environmental constrains, spoke to the people in the area and gave leadership to the project which would now be a reality next year.

Eighty families who lost their homes due to the development were each provided with 20 perche of land, a house, additional land for agriculture and even fishing gear and other necessities to brighten their livelihoods.

The gigantic project is being constructed in three stages at an investment of Rs. 13.600 million making it one of the biggest development projects in the country.

Series of measures have been taken to minimize environment hazards with over Rs. 350 million being spent on a special chimney to clean carbon waste. This waste would later be used as a raw material to produce cement.

This chimney too would be a landmark in Sri Lanka as it would be the tallest building outside Colombo.The Chinese government would fund the second and third stage of the project which is scheduled to be completed by 2014. Norochocholai project would add infrastructure to the area and provide direct employment opportunities for over 300.

One of the major advantages of the project would be that it would produce a unit of electricity at around Rs. 7 or 8. It would also help to minimize the usage of diesel power generation saving millions to the economy and for the first time in the history of the country would be able to earn foreign exchange by Exporting Electricity to India!