Hon. Kumara Jayakody - Minister of Energy
The Minister of Energy answered Hon. Ravi Karunanayake’s Standing Order 27(2) question by setting out current generation cost ranges by source and stating that large power procurements above 100 MW will use international competitive bidding, with payments made only in local currency. He said domestic competition is currently limited and may be linked, so procurement policy will be reviewed to avoid cartel behaviour and excessive prices. He also stated that the Government will proceed with the previously cancelled LNG project, with supplies planned from 2028, and noted that the CEB’s tariff proposal for June–December 2025 indicates a 15% electricity tariff increase.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, the response to the question raised by Hon. Ravi Karunanayake under Standing Order 27(2) on 2025.05.21 is as follows:
¶ 02 1. No. - Hydropower: Rs. 1.02–12.69 - Coal: Rs. 20.80 - Thermal power: Rs. 45.52–174.27 - Solar: Rs. 27.60–35.50 - Wind: Rs. 12.12
¶ 03 2. Yes. The answer to the next part of the question is also, yes.
¶ 04 3. The assumption made is incorrect; therefore, the question is not applicable.
¶ 05 4. From the outset, procurement for capacity above 100 MW will be through international competitive bidding, enabling highly competitive prices and greater foreign exchange efficiency, and ensuring the project can be completed.
¶ 06 Payments for electricity generated—whether by selected and developed local or foreign bidders—will be made only in local currency.
¶ 07 5. Currently, at most two or three domestic competitors operate in this field, and they appear to be internally linked. Therefore, to ensure effective competition by independent local bidders in the tender environment, policy decisions will be considered accordingly.
¶ 08 6. At present, international competitive bidding is called only for power purchases above 10 MW. When a sufficient number of domestic competitors emerges locally for higher capacities, the procurement method can be revised. Otherwise, a cartel of bidders could compel the CEB to purchase power at very high prices.
¶ 09 7. The present Government has decided to proceed with the LNG project tendered by the CEB and the Petroleum Corporation, which was cancelled by the previous administration. Accordingly, the Cabinet-appointed Negotiation Committee and Project Committee have been reconstituted to finalize with the successful bidder. This process is underway, with LNG supplies planned to commence by 2028.
¶ 10 8. Under Section 30 of the Sri Lanka Electricity Act, No. 20 of 2009, the CEB submitted its tariff proposal for June to December 2025 to the Public Utilities Commission on 2025.05.16, which currently indicates a 15% increase in electricity tariffs.
¶ 11 That is the answer.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Tuesday, 17 June 2025 ·No. 1750929357043199 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
- Page · column
- not yet extracted — page/column anchors are not in the current dataset; the source PDF is the citable location.
- Permalink
/lk/speeches/14629
Cite as: Hon. Kumara Jayakody - Minister of Energy. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 17 June 2025. No. 1750929357043199. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/14629