Cabinet subcommittee to decide solar power tariff today

2026-02-10 - 11:20

A Cabinet subcommittee is scheduled to meet today (Feb. 10) to finalize the purchase price per unit of electricity generated from solar power, reports say. The committee comprises Ministers Kumara Jayakody, Wasantha Samarasinghe, Anil Jayantha, and Sunil Handunneththi. It is reported that attention will be focused on fixing the maximum price at Rs. 37 per unit of electricity generated from solar power. However, industry stakeholders warn that reducing the rate to Rs. 37 per unit would make it impossible to continue operating within the sector. They point out that even when a proposal had earlier been made to purchase a unit at Rs. 45, the profit margin available to producers had been limited to around 9%. A senior figure in the field has cautioned that if such a decision is taken today, it could spell disaster for the renewable energy industry, while coal suppliers would stand to benefit. They further claim that electricity tariffs could increase by around 10% in the future as a result of the situation. Fresh doubts over coal procurement Meanwhile, General Secretary of the Electricity Consumers’ Association (ECA) – Sanjeewa Dhammika, has alleged that there is suspicion over whether substandard coal has been brought into the country through the third and fourth shipments that had arrived for the Lakvijaya Power Plant in Norochcholai. He also raised concerns as to whether the unloading of these stocks had taken place within the same time frame. Dhammika made these remarks at a media briefing held in Colombo yesterday (Feb. 09). He said steps would be taken to seek information from the relevant institutions under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, stressing that port loading and unloading records should be disclosed to the country without delay. According to standard procedure, only one ship is unloaded at a time. If 02 ships are handled simultaneously, there arises a serious doubt as to whether there has been an attempt to deliberately manipulate the sampling process, he said. If coal stocks are mixed, accurate test results cannot be obtained, and it may amount to an effort to conceal the truth, he added. Dhammika further noted that due to poor-quality coal, the underperformance at the Lakvijaya plant on Feb. 06 had resulted in a loss of Rs. 35.8 million in a single day, with generation shortfalls of 738 MWh from the second generator and 435 MWh from the third generator. He stressed that the government should bear direct responsibility for this. Describing the matter as a racket that wastes public funds, he said a detailed complaint would be lodged with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC). Related News: Power grid at risk again? Rs. 75 mn. daily loss due to substandard coal – ECA 3rd coal shipment to Norochcholai, also substandard – Pubudu Cabinet subcommittee uncovers extensive information on coal imported through Dubai-based company Coal tender scam a “ploy by Pelawatta” – Wimal No evidence of inferior coal being used in Norochcholai – Minister Coal shipment fails 2 lab tests – Champika