Background on Sri Lanka Biomass (47%), hydropower (8%) and petroleum (45%) are the main energy resources used in Sri Lanka, with per-capita consumption about 0.4toe. Thus indigenous, renewable sources of energy provide 55%of the national primary energy needs. All petroleum products are imported, and used for transport, electricity generation, household, commercial and industrial requirements. Electricity and petroleum products are the main forms of commercial energy, and an increasing amount of biomass is also commercially grown and traded. Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and eight independent power producers generate electricity in Sri Lanka, using hydropower and petroleum fuels. Over fifty privately-owned renewable energy-based small power producers, mostly small hydropower, also sell their electricity to the national grid. CEB operates the high voltage (HV) transmission system and grid substations. Both CEB and Lanka Electricity Company (LECO) distribute electricity. In 2005, the total electricity sales were 7201 GWh, at an average price of 7.71 LKR/kWh (CEB average) excluding VAT. The national grid serves electricity to an estimated 73.2% of the households, while about 3 % of the households are served by off-grid systems based on solar power or community small hydro/wind/biomass power plants. The national energy policy has identified fuel diversity as a strategic objective and renewable energy development to be a part of this strategy. NCRE generating facilities have been commercially developed by private investors since 1996, based on a standard power purchase agreement with CEB. This concession is offered to all power plants using a renewable source of energy or waste heat. The capacity should be less than 10 MW, and the power plants are embedded in the MV distribution network (i.e. they are not connected to the HV network, as in the case of large power plants). These facilities, mostly small hydroelectric power plants, now provide 3.2 % of grid energy (2005). By April 2006, there were 52 such facilities producing 94 MW. A further 40 projects of capacity 105 MW have signed agreements, and some of these are in various stages of the construction process. Sri Lanka recently revised National Energy Policy and Strategies consists of (a) Energy policy Elements (b) Implementing Strategies and (c) Specific Targets, Milestones and Institutional Responsibilities. 1. Providing Basic Energy needs The problems facing the energy sector of Sri Lanka are many. The priority issues that require to be resolved urgently are the following: Non-availability of electricity – About 25 % of the population have no electricity at home Inadequacy and high cost of electricity generation- The generating system is presently facing a severe crisis and the generation costs are high. Inadequacy of transmission and distribution – under investment and delayed investments are causing severe constraints to the operation, reliability and the quality of electricity supply. High price of petroleum products- The rapid increase in petroleum prices is affecting all sections of the society and the economy. Plans are afoot to resort to Coal, Dendro, Wind and Solar Power to meet crisis situations that arise owing to escalations of fuel prices and unexpected periods of drought. Today the cost of producing power and energy has risen to unbearable proportions mainly due to the inadequacy of water resources used for power generation, the unprecedented price hike of the other principal medium of generating electricity viz : fossil fuel and the 8% average annual increase in the demand for electricity. Sri Lanka Power Sector[Click to open the PDF file]
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