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Government and private power stations at odds on contract period

02 Feb 2022

 
  • Prez instructs not to agree to long-term contract
  • Private stations insist on 3-year agreement
  • New tenders to be called for emergency power purchasing
  Despite the Government’s need to purchase emergency power from private power stations, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has asked Power Minister Gamini Lokuge to renegotiate the duration of the power purchasing agreements to be signed between the two parties, with the power stations keen on signing for three years. “We reached a policy agreement on purchasing power privately for emergencies. However, the relevant private companies have asked that we sign the agreement for three years. The Government does not agree to that condition, and the President instructed Lokuge to discuss this condition again to only purchase power during the necessary times. The President also instructed that new tenders be called for the purchase of emergency power,” said Co-Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, addressing the press briefing to announce cabinet decisions yesterday (1). Lokuge said over the weekend that a cabinet proposal would be submitted this week, seeking approval for the purchase of emergency power from private power stations. Electricity Users’ Association Convener Sanjeewa Dhammika claimed this week that two private power purchasing agreements are due to be approved by the Cabinet – one for 100 MW from the Ace Embilipitiya Power Plant and the other for 20 MW from the Ace Matara Power Plant. “The agreements are to be signed for three years although that much is not needed. The estimated loss due to this is Rs. 5 billion. This is a complete mafia that is serving a purposefully created power shortage and crisis,” Dhammika claimed. Last week, Lokuge alleged that “certain parties” wanted the Government to sign private power purchasing agreements, in order to acquire power at a higher cost. “Some people want private power purchasing agreements to be signed, which is why some engineers are accusing the Government of not taking alternate paths to avoid a power crisis. But we have taken our own measures to avert the power crisis, by depending on our existing power plants. We will have to consider these kinds of agreements in April anyway, when the drought worsens. We have not forgotten that, but we are trying to do this at the lowest cost possible,” Lokuge said at a media briefing.


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