The Hon. (Dr.) Elayathamby Srinath

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the opportunity to speak on the Energy Ministry in the 2025 Budget.

¶ 02 For 2025, about Rs. 1.06 billion in recurrent expenditure and Rs. 20.08 billion in capital expenditure—total nearly Rs. 21 billion—have been allocated. In his Budget speech, the President committed to achieving 70% of generation from renewable sources by 2030. Under this, Rs. 290 million has been allocated to install rooftop solar for government buildings, low-income households, and religious places.

¶ 03 Our problem begins here. In Batticaloa District, welfare allocations do not properly reach beneficiaries. As the elected representative, I must raise our district’s issues. There are inadequate transformers; many people are waiting to install solar panels, but when we ask the CEB, they say transformer capacity is saturated. Given this, how will Budget funds reach those households or temples? There is a gap.

¶ 04 The CEB has provided electricity to 99% of consumers in our district; we appreciate that. But we face serious service issues in obtaining connections and solar facilitation. Currently, rooftop solar yields about 5 MW for homes, 15 MW for business, and ground-mounted solar about 30 MW in the district—still less than 10% of potential. With such bottlenecks, how will the President’s targets be achieved?

¶ 05 There are further issues. SMEs face delays obtaining three-phase connections; when inquiring, we are told there are budget or staffing shortages. With such obstacles, small businesses struggle to sustain operations.

¶ 06 There is a severe staff shortage in CEB offices in Batticaloa. Have measures been taken to recruit? Past recruitments placed junior meter readers from distant districts who transferred out quickly, leaving vacancies—even engineers, electrical superintendents, and field officers. How will the Ministry deliver quality service under these conditions?

¶ 07 We have no clarity on district-specific allocations. A major Eastern Province development initiative—allegedly with Indian assistance—was spoken of. Meanwhile, the Adani Group, a major Indian investor, has exited. Without such investment, how will those development plans proceed? Even SMEs’ ability to install solar may be affected. In the North and East, promoters and capital providers lack an enabling environment, creating disappointment and doubt. Will Batticaloa be neglected again as in the past?

¶ 08 On fuel distribution: recent disruptions were managed better than before, but we still need assurance of consistent, orderly distribution. In some places, night distribution has been stopped and card payments halted, raising fears of a return to past crises. The Government must focus fully on ensuring fair, prioritized access—for both fuel and electricity—for our district’s people.

¶ 09 Thank you.