During the discussion on the Electricity Amendment Bill in the Sri Lankan Parliament, there was opposition from the opposition and some trade unions of the Adani Group. The opposition alleges that the government-to-government agreement to set up a 500 MW wind power plant on the North Coast in collaboration with the Adani Group is the key reason for the amendment of the 1989 Act.
Despite opposition from the opposition, the government passed amendments to the Sri Lanka Electricity Act. In the Sri Lankan Parliament of 225 MPs, 120 votes were in favor of the amendment, 36 votes were cast against it and 13 MPs did not vote for the proposal. At the same time, this amendment is being opposed by trade unions affiliated to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB). The Ceylon Electricity Board has issued a notice on behalf of the employees, saying that if this amendment becomes law, they will protest against it.
The Engineers Union of CEB says that this amendment is being done to give a big renewable energy deal to the Adani Group. At the same time, the SJB says that the power project with a capacity of 10 MW should be awarded only through tender, but most of the MPs have voted against it.
Let us tell you, the purpose of amendment in this Electricity Act is to rapidly lay new generation renewable energy plants and overhead transmission lines in the country. Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara said that “Sri Lanka is facing daily power cuts as it does not have dollars to import fuel to generate electricity. The contribution of renewable energy to the country’s energy supply is very low as many projects have been delayed due to resistance from CEB engineers.
Significantly, these days Sri Lanka is going through an economic crisis. Due to the exhaustion of foreign exchange reserves, Sri Lanka has stopped asking for crude oil, medicines and even essential items. There is also a shortage of coal on a large scale in the country, due to which the people of the country are facing power cuts for several hours.