• No State power plant to be privatised

The Energy Ministry yesterday (6) stressed that the process of amending the Sri Lanka Electricity Act will focus on not only ensuring the affordable and uninterrupted provision of electricity, but also the reforms necessary to protect the sector, consumers, and stakeholders.

These remarks were made during a press briefing held at the ministry, where the proposed amendments to the Act were discussed. According to the Ministry Secretary Udayanga Hemapala, the Government’s energy policy focuses on the uninterrupted provision of electricity at a lower tariff and aims to ensure energy security. This, he noted, requires structural and systematic reforms, including through legal and regulatory reforms. “Approval has been received to consult the public in order to ensure that it is implemented in a people-friendly manner,” he said, adding that the opinions of stakeholders, including those of investors will also be taken into consideration.

During the press briefing, the Ministry’s Power Sector Reforms Secretariat Director General Pubudu Niroshana explained that the Government has identified that these reforms will have impacts on other sectors as well. He added that the consultation and reform processes will therefore provide adequate time to look into the public opinions. He explained that while the Government’s stance is that neither the State sector nor the private sector should maintain a complete monopoly in the energy sector, in the initial stage of these reforms, the State sector will take the lead to ensure that everyone has access to energy. With regard to the specific reforms that have received attention, Niroshana added that attention has been paid to entrust energy generation, transmission, and distribution to three independent institutions. He added that out of the institutions in the energy sectors, some will continue to remain under the State’s administration, while some may be privatised. Some, he added, could even continue as public-private partnerships.

“The Government’s energy policy is that no State-owned power plant will be privatised,” he emphasised.