The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition

¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, solar power holds a special place in the renewable sector. As it is environmentally friendly, green energy, and low-cost, we as a country have increasingly turned to solar power generation. Page 165 of the Government’s policy statement proposed to add 2,000 MW of solar power to the national grid in stages. However, certain decisions taken by the Government after assuming office contradict that policy statement. Therefore, to clarify the Government’s current power generation policy, I raise the following questions:

¶ 02 01. What is the number of existing coal and diesel power plants in the country? What are they? Are there any diesel power plants not owned by the Government? If so, which are they and who owns them? What is the current unit cost to the Government of generating electricity from diesel, coal, hydro and solar? What is the cost paid by the Government to purchase a unit of electricity from private plants? Will you state, plant-wise, the megawatts added to the national grid by each source?

¶ 03 02. Under the CEB’s Long-Term Generation Expansion Plan, what solar capacity is projected? How much of that capacity has been achieved so far, and what percentage is it? How much further capacity needs to be added to the national grid, and what steps has the Government taken to achieve it?

¶ 04 03. Of the total installed solar capacity in the country, what is the contribution, separately, from rooftop and ground-mounted solar projects? What are the current purchase tariffs for rooftop solar? Does the Government expect to revise those tariffs? If so, how and when? What remedies will be provided to mitigate adverse impacts of tariff revisions on the industry?

¶ 05 04. What are the current purchase tariffs for electricity bought from ground-mounted solar projects? Does the Government intend to further reduce those tariffs? If so, will that not discourage new investors? How many ground-mounted solar projects are currently operational in the country? Are there applications pending for investment in such new projects? If so, how many? Of these new project proposals, how many have been approved by the Project Approval Committee of the Sustainable Energy Authority and by the CEB? If approvals are pending, what reasons have caused the delays?

¶ 06 05. Circular No. 2025/GM/08/DCC issued on 17 March 2025 imposes network limits on solar PV systems. Will this not discourage investment in solar power generation? Further, will this not completely erode public confidence in the Government’s stated policy of shifting from fossil fuels to low-cost renewables such as solar and wind? Is the Government’s effort to promote generation through diesel IPPs? If not, what steps has the present Government taken to further uplift the solar generation industry?

¶ 07 06. Is the Government taking steps to urgently amend the Electricity Act or bring a new Act? If so, when will it be presented to Parliament?

¶ 08 Thank you.