• No MoU yet, ADB financial feasibility study and bilateral tech evaluations underway  

Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera yesterday (16) stated that connecting the national energy grid of Sri Lanka with the Indian grid will not cause any risk. 

Responding to a query by The Daily Morning on the possibility of a risk arising in connecting the Sri Lankan energy grid with India, Wijesekera said: “I don’t see any risk, because, if every other country has connected, what’s the risk for Sri Lanka in connecting the grid? When the other countries are getting the benefits out of it, this is the mindset that has dragged our country down this economic downfall for so many decades. We’ve kept oil tanks for more than seven decades without developing them, because we want to keep them for ourselves. But, the reality is that if we had gone in for public-private partnerships or complete private partnerships, our energy security would have been much more strengthened in the last 12 months. What we need to do as a Government is to first make sure that we have energy security in our country. Energy security is connected to everything, including food security and health requirements, and all of those things. We will make decisions based on that. President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been very clear that he wants to have close relationships in India. India has been very supportive in the last 12 months, especially during the most difficult times. That country has provided us with relief not just with the energy sector but with every aspect possible.”

When queried as to whether there had been any memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard, he said: “There is no MoU on the new connection signed yet. I was in India last week as well. The discussions have progressed as well. There is an Asian Development Bank (ADB) feasibility study being conducted as of now. The government policy plan is to definitely connect the two grids, the Indian grid and the Sri Lankan grid. There are technical evaluations being conducted. Once the technical and financial feasibility studies are completed, we hope to get into an agreement with the Indian counterpart so that things can be implemented as soon as possible. But, we are hoping that by the next time that President Wickremesinghe visits India, this is something that we can agree on.” 

When further queried as to whether the connection would take place in two months time, he noted: “If it can be done in two weeks, we will push it to be completed in two weeks, but the reality is that we have to wait until some evaluations of the technical and financial feasibility are conducted. There are teams from both sides engaged in this work. On Wednesday (15), we had a discussion on this. We are hoping that within the next two months, we will come into some sort of legal framework and understanding on how this should be implemented. We are the only country in the region that has not connected with India. India has already connected with Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. All these countries are sharing the energy resources and I see that it will give an advantage to Sri Lanka in the immediate turn of events where we would be able to fulfill our own immediate requirement while Sri Lanka will also be looking at being an energy independent country and an energy export country. That is where we should be aiming at. That is where we are looking to use the offshore wind potential and the renewable potential that we have so that we can share our energy.”

Meanwhile, the Reuters, quoting a Sri Lankan diploma, reported on Wednesday that Sri Lanka and India will sign a pact to link their power grids and start negotiations on an upgraded trade agreement within two months.

Earlier, The Hindu reported that during the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar to Sri Lanka recently, talks were expected on two possible MoUs on the Trincomalee development project and the long term plan for a cross Strait transmission line that would allow Sri Lanka access to India’s plans for an energy grid along with other countries like Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.