Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror reported on April 2 that the Sri Lanka Renewable Energy Development Association said yesterday that the proposed new electricity price system has put the renewable energy industry in crisis. There are currently about 150 to 200 projects that are at a standstill. If these projects are stalled, the Ceylon Electricity Board may face losses of more than 13 billion rupees per year.
The chairman of the Sri Lanka Renewable Energy Development Association emphasized to the media that the most controversial clause in the proposed agreement is that the Ceylon Electricity Board is allowed to unconditionally limit the amount of renewable energy absorbed by the national grid. He criticized the clause for undermining investor confidence and hindering the long-term development of the renewable energy industry. The Piyasa solar power project will also be in crisis due to the new electricity price. About 1,000 companies have invested 2 billion rupees in equipment for the project, but the uncertainty of electricity price changes may force these companies to suspend operations, reduce manpower investment, or even stagnate.
Investors initially cooperated based on an electricity price of 24 rupees per unit. If the cabinet approves the new electricity price (19 rupees per unit), a sharp 25% reduction will make these projects financially unsustainable. He called on policymakers to carefully reconsider the electricity price structure to avoid hindering the achievement of Sri Lanka's renewable energy goals.
