BOTTOM LINE ON POWER – MASSIVE SUBSIDY, YET PRICES TO DROP

*Non-peak bonanza

*Sampur, a problem-solver

U.S Govt. request: We won’t meet them

Asked whether the U.S government has requested a meeting with the Power and Energy authorities on the domestic issue of power tariffs, the President said that he has not got such a request, but the Power and Energy Ministry Secretary replied that he had.

Ministry Secretary Ganegala said that he has not yet replied to this letter, and the President said that he should immediately dispatch a reply. The President said he has not been requested for such a meeting by US government officials and ‘will not comply’ even if he gets such a request.

Norochcholai : The power plant canard

It is a canard that the Norochcholai power plant has broken down recently for the nineteenth time said top CEB officials, adding that there were seven instances of repairs (one for stipulated annual maintenance) which was partly due to the fact that this is the first time that a coal power facility has been integrated into the national grid. But with time these issues and irritants will disappear, it was stated.

The fuel adjustment charges would disappear by the end of this year, when the gradual transition to coal power is accomplished and power generation is not oil dependant, CEB officials and the Minister of Power and Energy Pavithra Wanniarachchi stated, at the Editors’ meeting with the president at Temple Trees yesterday.

Around 30 per cent of the households will experience a mere 75 per cent increase in their electrify bills as a result of the contemplated tariff increase, said the Power and Energy and CEB officials with the President, quipping – ‘What’s the price of two cigarettes?’.

It was stressed that a unit of electricity that takes Rs. 24 to create is being sold at rupees six or seven, even after the power tariff increases now in the offing.

However, Minister Basil Rajapaksa stressed that those who do not consume during the peak load period of 6.30 pm to 10 pm are in receipt of an automatic bonanza if they consume power at the non-peak hours as the new tariffs are structured that way.

“Consume in the non -peak hours for your main needs and the benefit will automatically accrue in the bill,’ he said.

The Sampur power station will be operational in the near future – see separate story – and therefore a full transition from oil dependency to coal-power will be able to significantly reduce power costs, he said.

Meanwhile, there is a continuing demand for electricity, and the additional demand of 300 giga watts or so per year has to be factored in, the CEB officials said. It was also stated that the government policy has been to offer an uninterrupted supply of electricity -- a policy that has so far not been interrupted.