Ten-year plan for energy sector ‘impressive’

Sri Lanka’s 10-year strategic plan for the energy sector is impressive and the ambition of the Government is clear in reducing dependency on foreign countries for imports and achieving self-reliance in energy, Director, Asset-intensive Energy and Utilities, IFS Global Industry, Colin Beaney told Sunday Observer Business before hosting a forum on energy and utilities titled ‘Smart Enterprise Asset Management’ at the Ceylon Electricity Board office in Kandy.

Beaney who has been involved in implementing and managing IFS software in project and asset-intensive organisations worldwide, underscored the importance of sound Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) in private and public sector corporates in the energy and utilities sector.

“ERP and EAM are indispensable factors for efficient management of assets and corporate success. IFS, a software vendor, offers everything that is necessary to run a business be it energy, utilities or manufacturing. Sound asset management and planing are essential components for operational success. Many global companies adopt software solutions for effective resource management,” Beaney said.

“I am happy with Sri Lanka’s energy sector strategic plan which focuses on renewable energy, reducing reliance on other countries, achieving 100 percent availability of energy to the whole country with massive infrastructure investments and exploiting gas resources.

This endeavour needs private sector money coming in to secure growth,” he said.

Beaney said that moving to renewable energy needs considerable effort and expenditure.

The renewable energy sector needs wind farms, small domestic supplies and people who would generate energy.

“We need to be mindful of the tax-payers and that the money spent is spent well. Therefore, having software that manages it well is crucial. IFS will support resource management in energy sector institutions through its asset management solutions,” he said.

IFS, a global organisation in developing and delivering business software for enterprise resource planning and enterprise asset management is a public company founded in 1983. It has over 2,700 employees and supports over 2,400 customers worldwide.

“The energy and utility sectors have a huge asset base which need to be improved, modernised and extended.

Many countries are going through an energy mix from nuclear or to nuclear and from less efficient coal power plants to efficient biomass facilities,” Beaney said.

He said while the demand for energy in developed countries is flat, in developing countries it is growing which makes it all-the-more important to manage the depleting resource effectively.

The energy demand will peak within the next 30 years.

The West has moved towards efficient devices with less electricity. There is ample room for development in the energy sector in Sri Lanka and with regard to energy pricing he said that it has to be at an acceptable level. There has to be realistic pricing.

Beaney said how we generate power will be different in five years. ERP solutions that are flexible and integrates with the other areas of business are vital. Aspirations at ministerial level is clear. However, we need to ensure that delivery level is maintained.

He said organisations in the service and asset intensive industries face many challenges such as making the industry attractive to youth with state-of-the-art mobile solutions, Government regulations, fuel emission standards and meeting customer demands.

Business Solution Advisor, IFS, Sean Fernando said IFS has engaged with the Ceylon Electricity Board over the past two years and have improved its operations through automation.

“The CEB had the vision to go for full automation. To get the six power stations of the Mahaweli complex on board was a victory.

“Our experience in working with the CEB was enriching though we went with a sceptical mind. The use of modern technology was a huge success for the institution,” he said.

- LF