Russian team explores nuclear applications:

Lanka must be ready for any eventuality - Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka

By Manjula Fernando

Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka speaking to the Sunday Observer on CEB's projected goals for 2013 and the proposed visit of the team of Russian nuclear experts this month says nuclear power is not a priority goal in CEB's generation plan within the next decade.

"The Russian team is not coming here to do a feasibility study of nuclear power generation or to set up a new nuclear plant. We are serious about nuclear energy but first the attention is on studying its adverse effects," the Minister explained.

A Gama radiation project is another area that we have focused our attention. This technology will be acquired for sterilisation of fruits and vegetables produced for exporting and also medicinal drugs and surgical gloves. The target is to open a centre in Biyagama in January 2014.

The acquisition of new gene technology to research and produce food crops with high resistance with a lab set up at Gannoruwa and introducing Isotopic hydrology technology to identify underground water resources and leakages in dams are few other areas that Russain know-how will be sought.

In the future wars will be fought over water resources. The extreme changes of weather patterns will make water the main scarcity in the world. Lack of preparedness for such challenges will put us in serious trouble. In Matale we have witnessed earth cavities, that would create massive earthslips. The technology can identify, underground water flows and cavities. It will help forecast dangers and propose mitigatory action.

An important development will be a new laboratory, to conduct elementary analysis on natural phenomenas like the red rain. The Atomic Energy Authority conducted a research on these pigmented rain and isolated 'serious' amounts of ferrous, zinc and other elements. This is a highly extraordinary abnormal situation which merits scientific analysis.

He said, "Our second priority will be to train human resource in this discipline. The University of Moratuwa with the Atomic Energy Authority is laying the groundwork to introduce a new course module on nuclear science," the Minister explained.

Excerpts of the full interview:

The power and Energy Ministry is of the view that we may one day have to resort to nuclear power as a source of stable energy but at the moment the country is not ready for nuclear power generation. The visit of the Russian team is to enhance nuclear energy cooperation between the two countries.

Russia is an advanced country as far as nuclear technology and its applications are concerned, so we have already held discussions with the Russian ambassador and he is going to help us upgrade and enhance our capabilities and capacities in Sri Lanka, especially to upgrade the Atomic Energy Authority.

Basically we are now in the process of introducing new technologies in the field of nuclear science. We are in the process of installing NDT, Nondestructive Technology, at the end of this year we will be able to have a centre built in Kelaniya.

This contaminated rain water could enter human body. It may have adverse effects on our organs. It may contain carcinogens. We still don't know.

We collected rain samples from different places. AEA conducted a study to read the elements in these samples. The MRI did a biological study. We received modern equipment and technology from Vienna as a donation to help us with this analysis.

The alleged meteorite pieces that had fallen were also examined using this equipment at the AEA. They suspect that some of the pieces could actually be from man made objects like destroyed satellites. The studies are still continuing.

Extraordinary situations are happening, the country should be alert to these happenings. The water get polluted because of the alien material in the rain water. The red pigmentation is reportedly from ferrous oxide. In the wake of these extraordinary developments we have to equip our laboratory facilities to conduct analysis. Russian expertise in this context will definitely come in handy.

Russians have the best technology in nuclear power and they are putting up plants in India as well. We want to know modern day technology and answers for nuclear related power generation problems, issues connected to waste disposal, ash, leakages, which are detrimental to human population, so will be sharing their expertise in this area as well.

The Russian team is not coming here to do a feasibility study of nuclear power generation or nuclear plant. We are serious about nuclear energy but first we need to go deep into possible adverse effects and study them.

Atomic Energy Authority and Power and Energy Ministry helped University of Moratuwa to introduce a new course module to the engineering students, Prof. Prinath Dias is heading this effort. He is an expert in the field of nuclear technology. He has been working for decades in Vienna. During my university days he was the key figure behind nuclear technology studies at Moratuwa.

The objective is to familiarise nuclear technology in the university system and study new trends. We must first train the human resource needed to introduce and develop this sector in the country and at the moment we are making ground work for that. According to our long-term generation plan, there is no plan to establish a nuclear plant in the country within the next decade.

We are looking at expanding the LNG sector and absorbing non-conventional energy sources as our energy generation plan of the next decade.

Unfortunately, the CEB and the ministry have no authority to increase or decrease tariff because we are sandwiched between, Petroleum Corporation, the Coal company, the Finance Ministry and the Public Utility Commission. These institutions determine our in-put prices, basically the prices of fuel and the electricity tariff. We have no authority whatsoever.

From year 2010 to 2012, there has been over 140 percent increase in fuel prices but only 23 percent increase on the Bill, this has put the CEB in a serious financial crisis.

CEB's generation cost is about 85 percent of the total cost, and it has doubled during the past couple of years. The CEB's main issue is that the decisions with regard to tariff revisions are no longer vested with the Board but outside players.

Our demand is to let the market forces determine the electricity tariff in an objective manner. This is too much a vital sector to be allowed to be controlled by a few individuals. There should be an objective formula acceptable to CPC, CEB and the general public to determine fuel prices and the electricity tariff.

It has to be a transparent formula. We are ready to reveal our expenditure figures. Unfortunately few individuals try to jack-up prices in one sector while blocking the other.

On the other hand we should have a safety net to protect socially backward people. We should invest in projects to electrify our rural areas. I am of the view that it is unfair to charge them the same cost as the high income groups.

We should introduce a surcharge tax on high income groups, because their high consumption compell us to use high cost thermal generators. If all households consume less than 60 kilowatt hours per month, then our costs can be halved. There will be a 40 percent reduction in power demand if household air conditioners use can be stopped.

Construction boom and Tourism sector development

The Ministry is aware of the development demands in the country, the rise in demand in the tourism sector and the construction sector. We are ready to cope with the demand.

There is this misconception that Sri Lanka's electricity bill is the highest in the region but we are the only country in the region which provides 24/7 power supply. If not for this uninterrupted power supply, the country would have recorded a negative economic growth last year. In the third quarter of 2012, the agriculture sector suffered heavy setbacks due to a severe drought. But fortunately it was mitigated by a 7.3 percent growth recorded in the industrial sector. The subsidised power supply to this sector was one of the key impetus for this outcome. The CEB gave nearly Rs. 23 billion rupees worth of subsidised power to industrial sector within 2012.

As far as the low income groups and households are concerned we have given about Rs.30 billion worth of electricity free. This is four times more than the total Samurdhi allocation.

CEB must share the credit to the country's sound economic performance. For example The CEB supplied subsidised power to the hotel sector to the tune of Rs.1 billion during the past 12 months.

There is a situation of interrupted power supply in Jaffna. The reason is the unprecedented demand for power by the construction boom in the peninsula. Roads, bridges, buildings are being constructed, there is an acute demand for power, this has led to temporary power outages. There are no imposed power cuts in Jaffna.

In 2009, Jaffna's electrification level was 40 percent, now it is 95 percent. From this year onwards we have connected temporary line main grid to the Jaffna Peninsula restoring somewhat satisfactory supply.

We have installed a 24 megawatt plant and halted the use of the 20 MW high cost diesel plant that was used for Jaffna electrification. This is the first time in the country after 1996, that the CEB was able to stop the use of a high cost power plant. It was a bold decision and surprised many who thought the power Mafia will not allow such stations to be closed. The investment for the new plant in Jaffna came from LECO. Local Engineers were involved in the installation part. This was the second 100 percent indigenous generation plant after Laxapana.

After the completion of Chunnakkam in September this year, we will be able to give uninterrupted power supply to Jaffna. The Chunnakkam plant will be operational for 20 straight years.

According to statistics, the transmission generation and distribution loss of CEB stood at 24 percent. In India it is about 30 percent. We analysed this loss and found that there is an unavoidable technical loss of about 7%-9%. The balance loss was due to 'electricity theft', dominantly in the North and the East. The present Electricity Act does not permit cracking down on power pirates, taking legal action against them. Nonetheless we got Attorney General's opinion and launched an islandwide program to crack down on pirates in June 2010.

As a result we were able to reduce the loss due to power piracy from 24 percent to 12 percent. But still there is a 3 percent gap, that incur Rs.6 billion loss to CEB. Certain percentage of this 3 percent account for the free power connections given to newly resettled families. Our target is to achieve zero level power piracy by 2015. As far as the power loss or efficiency is concerned we are the best in the region at present.

In 2013, the Ministry plans to complete Puttalam phase 2, this will be our priority No.1. It will help us meet possible power deficits in the months to come. In addition, the blue prints to put up a new 300MW plant in Kerawalapitiya to exclusively cater to the Colombo demand will be commissioned.

The 100 percent electrification program by 2012 became a non-event due to sanctions imposed on Iran by the US. We are thinking of having an alternative solution this year to fulfill this 100 percent electrification goal. At the moment we are exploring the options at hand. Dollar transactions with Iran have been blocked by Banks and we are put in a very serious situation as a result. The Ministry heavily depended on the Iranian project to illuminate 1,000 villages.

The energy sector too is going to be seriously affected due to the US sanctions. Our refineries were running on Iranian Oil since other types are not as efficient as Iranian oil, their yield is very low. We are trying to complete the off grid solutions to the energy demand. A total of 40,000 households are to be provided with solar panels within this year.

Another plan is to integrate the existing stand alone power grids totalling 300, including mini hydro power projects into the main grid. Hundred of such projects have already been absorbed. CEB is going to fund small power plants owned by Cooperative Societies, setting a precedent in the whole world. We will help cooperative societies to generate power and sell it to the main grid.