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| Thursday, 19 September 2002 |
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by Rajmi Manatunga A Forum of South Asian Energy Reporters will be formed to improve the flow of information on energy related issues to the public. The Forum will discuss the role of electricity utilities and regulatory organisations in providing information to the public and creating public awareness about the region's energy crisis. This proposal was taken up when journalists from several South Asian countries assembled in Colombo last Monday for an 'executive exchange of media partnership on energy' conducted by the US Energy Association under the South Asian Regional Energy Partnership Program (SAREPP). Major issues in the South Asian Energy sector were discussed at the workshop attended by energy experts from South Asia and the United States. They outlined successful examples of US and African energy industries to the media and highlighted the widespread subsidising of energy in South Asia. They claimed that subsidising has degraded the value of energy to the level of free resources like air and water, affecting the viability of energy industries in these countries. Grant Stockdale representing the US media pointed out that such subsidies are 'unhealthy' for an industry. India could be considered as the South Asian country most affected by energy subsidising and the government's reluctance to increase tariff. Delegates from India pointed out that the country was losing two rupees per electricity unit as the average unit price of electricity is as low as Rs 1.59 while the expense is Rs 3.35. In Sri Lanka, the generation cost and the unit price of electricity is generally at the same level but the crisis arises when the hydro electricity generation (60 per cent of the overall generation) goes down with monsoonal failures which happened in 1998, 2000 and 2001. "Then we have to use thermal power which costs the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) eight to 10 rupees per unit, a large sum compared to the two rupee generation cost of hydropower," Nihal Wickramasuriya of the Power Sector Reforms Office said. He said the Electricity Reform Bill addresses problems faced by the local energy sector by introducing regulatory, tariff and structural reforms to break up the CEB monopoly. Subsidisation is common in Sri Lanka as well, he admitted, saying the increase of electricity rates by 38 per cent last month was a bold move by the government. The exchange of energy in the region and the political commitment needed for developing the energy industry were also discussed. |
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