At a press conference held on the 2nd of July by an organization named “Dushanaya Widu Nethin” a Minister revealed the details of a massive fraud caused by a sudden power purchase that had taken place. Speaking at the event, Dr. Nalaka Godahewa pointed out that this white collar theft is a fraud that goes beyond the Central Bank Bonds robbery. Due to this, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is incurring a huge loss which at the end of this would have to be paid by the consumers itself.
You probably remember back in 2000-2005 there was a huge power crisis in this country. The electricity was cut eight hours daily. Due to this a small generator was purchased in every house possible.
But during the period of 2005 to 2014 we experienced no such power cuts, even when the war was in full action throughout the island there was electricity. By the end of the war, in 2014, 98% of households across the country got electricity. Not just that, the previous government also reduced the electricity tariff by 25% in 2014 and further promised to reduce it more in the future that was to come.
After the present YAHAPALANAYA (Good Governance) government came into power, there has been no such reduction in the electricity tariff as it has gone higher and higher with the period of time. On top of that, this year 2019 the country had to face another power crisis. Electricity was cut day and night. Emergency power supplies had to be brought.
Where’s the change?
If there’s a system in our country regarding electricity, a plan should be implemented for an electricity supply of 20 to 30 years. The Mahaweli project was designed with that intention. The Norochcholai coal power plant was constructed with the same intention. Various other power plants such as Kerawala Ground, Upper Kotmale, and Uthuru Janani were built with that very same intention.
During the period of 1994 to 2005 which was the ruling period of Chandrika Bandaranaike government, even though necessary systems and plans were made none of these were implemented which led to a power crisis islandwide. Electricity was provided to people without leading to a power crisis during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government is because they worked according to a system they had implemented.
Our country’s electricity capacity was doubled from the year of 2005 to 2014. In addition to that when Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government was defeated back in 2015, plans to power the country with electricity for the next 10 years were already approved but that government didn’t have the chance to implement it due to the defeat in 2015.
What did the present government do since the day they came into power? Like they destroyed every other sector, they destroyed the power sector, cancelled the Colombo port city, halted the Hambantota harbour development, latest planes that were being imported for the use of the Sri Lakan Airlines was cancelled and just like they did those the Yahapalanaya government also terminated all new projects that were to be added to our power grid during 2015-2020.
The 500 MW Sampur power plant that was supposed to be launched was cancelled. The 120-megawatt Uma Oya project, which had just begun, was cancelled. The gas turbine project that was supposed to generate 105 MW was cancelled.
All power plant projects that were planned upto the year 2023 were cancelled.
A power plant in Hambantota where electricity was to be provided through the Hambantota winds was in progress of constructed but now is to be seen as an abandoned project, as recently images of the rusting of its machinery were on all social networking sites.
During the period of 2015 to 2019 no such new projects were added to the electricity system of Sri Lanka. The country has lost a capacity of more than 1200 MW, which seems to be the only plan the present government had regarding electricity
The demand for the country will not stop growing just because they decided to abandon all plans. The demand for electricity increases at a speed of over 200 MW per year. Because no new power generation was implemented since 2015 to 2019, we had to face a power crisis again after so many years.
Now we understand the true plan of the good governance government.
According to the Electricity Board, tenders should be called for the purchase of new power capacities by the Sri Lanka Electricity Board. But there’s a little trick to this. That is, it is permissible to purchase electricity without calling for tenders for emergencies.
Now the cat has jumped out of the bag. The Yahapalanaya government cancelled all plans to systematically increase the power capacity which would knowingly lead to a power crisis. The crisis arrived. Now rulers can purchase electricity without any tenders. When purchased in that manner, no one knows how much or what money is being exchanged which means the work is cheap. An electric ship from Turkey also arrives like that without any tenders.
Since the beginning of 2016 this fraud has been in action. High cost emergency power supplies were beginning to be purchased.
In 2016, 155 MW
In 2017, 180 MW
In 2018, 320 MW
In 2019, it is expected to take 720 MW
The purchase of emergency power supply capacity in 2019 is stunning. This is higher than the total capacity of 665 MW provided from the Mahaweli project.
But who will bear the long-term losses from this? The people. It is because emergency electricity is purchased at high prices. Also, this emergency power supply is only temporary. These aren’t resources that are an advantage to the country like building a new power plant. It’s just expenses only.
For example, according to a statement made by a Minister in the Parliament the cost of producing and distributing a unit of electricity at present is only Rs. 23. But the average cost of purchasing power from the Yahapalanaya government is around Rs 49 per unit. The cost is double its price. Whose money is spent for these? The people’s money.
The Ceylon Electricity Board made a profit of Rs. 20 billion in the year of 2015. That is even after the 25% reduction in electricity tariffs was given to the consumers. It was planned to continue to be profitable and to reduce the cost of electricity for the people by using a portion of the profits, but the Yahapalanaya government made it a loss making entity through fraud.
Now the Minister himself says that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is about to incur a lose of Rs. 100 billion.
He himself says that in order to cover that loss, the electricity tariff would have to be increased in the near future.
In short, “the public must pay for their thefts.”
Comentários