The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I rise today to express my support for the Adjournment Motion moved by the Hon. Ajith P. Perera, which shows serious concern over a policy decision that threatens to derail our progress towards achieving sustainable energy in Sri Lanka.

¶ 02 According to reports, the Government has proposed a significant cut in the per unit payment for electricity generated by newly installed rooftop solar panels from the current rate of Rs. 27 per unit to Rs. 19, Rs. 17 and Rs. 15, depending on the system capacity. This abrupt adjustment is not only alarming, but unjust. Sir, this is not just a reduction, but a disincentive. It risks pushing solar power generation into reverse at a time when we need it. We declared our ambition boldly in September, 2020 to generate 70 per cent of our electricity from renewable energy by 2030.

¶ 03 Sir, if you look at the brief history, the effort to incorporate renewable energy into power generation in Sri Lanka goes back to several decades with growing focus on solar power, thereby reducing the dependence on imported fossil fuel such as coal and oil to generate electricity. Notably, rooftop solar energy tariff structures were introduced as early as 2005, laying foundation for subsequent incentives. To facilitate widespread use of rooftop solar panels, the Government introduced Net Metering, Net Accounting and Net Plus schemes, allowing consumers to feed surplus solar energy into the National Grid in return for electricity bill payment.

¶ 04 Sir, let me now speak from my personal experience. I personally opted for Net Metering. Why? Because I want to allow my neighbour also – I think that is the matter that the Hon. Member of Parliament from the Government also raised – to have his right to solar power. Simply because I have a little more money, I do not want to install a lot of solar panels and go for net accounting, trying to get money out of it and blocking the space for my neighbour to use solar energy. So, one thing I want to urge the Government is to have some regulation over access to solar power by individual households.

¶ 05 They cannot monopolize it because they have money. After all, solar power belongs to all and all should have equal access to it. Let us not allow anybody to monopolize it for themselves at the exclusion of their neighbours and also the poor neighbouring village.

¶ 06 Sir, rooftop solar holds great promise. With solar energy, grid stability remains a pressing concern. So, let us encourage net metering with special incentives. The Government seems to have no plans for solar power. They are a little worried; they are confused. Let me tell you, Sir, the Government will have to revisit their policy. A lot of things have been spoken about the battery storage for solar power. Let me warn you, battery storage for solar power is still a technological challenge in the world. So, do not fall for it.

¶ 07 Now, let me point out other options, which this Government may have had, but not looked into seriously. That is, to re-pump the dam water for hydropower during the daytime, as a way forward. Using a secondary dam would have many benefits. It would help flood-control, the water could be reused for irrigation and to keep the wetness in the region. As one of our former kings said, every single drop of rainwater should be prevented from rushing to the sea before we draw the maximum benefit from it. I keep saying this in the Ampara District. No one listens. Let us do a pilot project beginning with Gal Oya and the Senanayake Samudraya. Build a secondary dam and, when the main dam overflows during heavy rains, divert into the secondary dam, and use solar power to re-pump. I believe this has been done in one place, but that is not enough. If we introduce this, we will have a continuous supply of hydropower. Please invest in this concept. Do not fall for solar battery storage; I am dead against it. The Government must give absolute, special incentives for net metering. I personally believe Net Accounting and Net Plus should be curtailed so that net metering is made available to every single household throughout the Island with a special incentive. Then there would be no issue for the Government or the grid, because households would mostly use their own generation and release only surplus to the grid during daytime.