Budget 2021: Two 600 MW natural gas power plants
November 17, 2020 05:02 pm
The government has proposed to augment the capacity of the Lakvijaya Coal-Fired Power Plant by 300 MW through Budget 2021 in order to mitigate secure continuous supply of electricity in 2021 and 2022.
In addition, it is also proposed to establish 2 natural gas power plants with a generation capacity of 600 MW.
Kerawalapitiya power plants are to be converted into natural gas power plants and additional natural gas power plants will be established with private ownership.
Since the existing diesel power plants have been in operation for over 20 years, it is proposed to amend the related agreements to reduce expenditure amounting to over Rs 15 billion that is incurred in this regard.
Further, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa proposed to amend the Public Utilities Commission Act and Ceylon Electricity Board Act to allow the rapid implementation of projects.
The target is to ensure that the electricity cost of the consumers and businesses will be reduced, establishing a competitive electricity supply in the region by 2023 through the reduction of the current level of massive expenditure spent on electricity generation.
It has been proposed through the Budget to add a capacity of 500 MW to the grid, by providing solar panels generating 5 kW to 100,000 houses of low-income families, through the loan schemes from the Asian Development Bank and the Indian Line of Credit, to supplement the government’s investments in the sector.
In addition, it proposes to increase renewable energy capacity to 1,000 MW by the expeditious implementation of both offshore wind and floating solar power plants exceeding 100 MW, with incentives provided by the Board of Investment.
A tax holiday of 7 years will also be given for all renewable energy projects.
