The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has decided to set up two gas turbines to produce 400
megawatts (MW) of electricity. The estimated cost for the project is USD $ 60
million. The 200 MW first turbine is scheduled to be commissioned in 2015 and the second
one in 2017.
However, an engineer questioned why the CEB should taken steps for such
turbines, when agreements with other power plants like the Puttalam Heladanvi
100 MW–the cheapest plant in the system–and the 100 MW Embilipitiya, though
currently producing only 70 MW, could be extended. "The contracts for both
those plants expire at the end of 2014. Why on earth should the CEB go for gas
turbines paying a staggering sum, when a unit of electricity produced by them
will cost between Rs. 6.00 and Rs. 7.00 per unit more than that produced by
Embilipitiya and Helandanvi apart from their construction cost?.
Meanwhile, some experts are of the view that the
CEB should renew contracts to get 75 MW from the Lakdanavi, Sapugaskanda and
ASCE plants (in Horana and Matara) all three contributing 25 MW each. Though
the CEB could now manage due to water in reservoirs being at spill level, the
75 MW would be crucial for the national grid during a crunch situation,
officials of the CEB’s System Control Division said. Officials of the CEB,
while agreeing that the three plants run with heavy sulphur oil, which is the
cheapest when compared with other combined cycle plants, said renegotiating
with the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) was crucial and the regulatory
body, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) should spell out the
methodology.
Energy expert, Dr. Anil Cabraal, who is
currently a Director of Energy Forum, after serving more the 15 years with the
World Bank, pointed out at the 2013 Economic Summit, which concluded last week,
that he did not see many benefits from gas turbines.
