CEB engineers' union unhappy over power policy switch

The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) has expressed its displeasure over what it sees as ad hoc government policies on power generation and power projects.

CEBEU President Athula Wanniarachchi told the Sunday Times that as a mark of protest, its members would withdraw from the Technical Evaluation Committees (TECs) which evaluate the suitability of companies that bid for power generation projects.

Of particular concern to the union, he said was the Government's decision to change the fuel for the proposed power plant in Sampur from coal to Liquefied National Gas (LNG) and the cancellation of the second coal power plant at Sampur after the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) had conducted a feasibility study. The Government has also indicated that no more coal power plants would be built in the country.

“We recognise that governments have the right to change policies. But, we expect a sensible and responsible government to change its policies only after careful study of the repercussions. We see no such studies have been done in this regard,” he said adding that the union had written to Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya.

The minister has agreed to meet union leaders on Tuesday.

Mr. Wanniarachchi said the Government should have thought of the fuel change at an early stage of the project. “The plant is already 10 years behind schedule. If we delay this now, it would set the plant back by another four years, during which time we will have to spend millions of rupees to buy power from private diesel power plants to ensure an uninterrupted power supply,” he said.

He said the union had proposed that an LNG terminal should be set up in the Colombo Port to support the proposed 300MW LNG power plant in Kerawalapitiya. He said the unions also believed the LNG plant and the terminal should be state owned and should not be given to the private companies as it would mean the CEB would have to buy power from them on their terms.

Mr. Wanniarachchi said the CEBEU had written to the Prime Minister, explaining their position and was also seeking a meeting with the President to discuss the matter.