The Hon. Kumara Jayakody

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, I table the answer.

¶ 02 Answer tabled: (a) (i) Ceylon Electricity Board: 1,266 MW Lanka Electricity Company (LECO): 259 MW

¶ 03 (ii) Annual energy added to the National Grid by solar (GWh), CEB (ground-mounted/rooftop) and LECO (rooftop), by year: 2016 — 2017 — 2018 — 2019 — 2020 — 2021 — 2022 — 2023 — 2024 up to November: CEB 986, LECO 175, Total 1,161

¶ 04 (iii) 06 September 2016.

¶ 05 (iv) Capacity added (MW) to the system under Net Plus, Net Metering and Net Accounting, by CEB and LECO, and the total: [figures in the tabled document]

¶ 06 (v) Measures to promote solar power: 1. Provision of solar PV systems to religious places under various international loan assistance schemes. 2. Procurement of large-scale solar power plants through competitive tenders. 3. Establishing coordinated procedures by the Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA), CEB and LECO to avoid delays in approvals for solar plant construction. 4. Facilitating customer-friendly selection under various schemes for rooftop solar: Net Plus, Net Plus Plus, Net Accounting and Net Metering. 5. Providing online clearance facilities for rooftop solar. 6. In line with the Paris Agreement and the “Common Policy Guidelines for the Electricity Industry (2022)”, target 70% of total generation from renewables by 2030, including developing Energy Storage Systems (ESS) to effectively absorb solar and other renewables into the grid. 7. In the Long-Term Generation Expansion Plan (LTGEP), published biennially by CEB, plan to absorb 300-400 MW of solar capacity annually with ESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems and Pumped Hydro Storage) to be introduced, and flexible thermal plants using cleaner fuels (LNG, green hydrogen) to manage system stability impacts. 8. Upgrade transmission infrastructure under the Long-Term Transmission Plan to enable higher renewable absorption; requisite financing arrangements are being pursued. 9. Strengthen grid capacity through rehabilitation to accommodate more solar connections. 10. Conduct training workshops for technical officers and engineers. 11. Recruit new service providers. 12. Public awareness via radio and television. 13. Provide technical support to install solar systems in state institutions.

¶ 07 (b) Not applicable.