• Official-level discussions underway on cross-border electricity network
• Govt. yet to make policy decision
• Grid plan eyes Myanmar link, excludes Pakistan

Sri Lanka has entered official-level discussions on connecting its electricity grid to a wider regional power network under an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-backed regional initiative, although the Government is yet to take a policy decision on joining the proposed cross-border electricity system, The Sunday Morning learns. 

Ministry of Energy Secretary G.M.R.D. Aponsu confirmed that Sri Lanka was participating in the ongoing discussions on the proposed regional electricity connectivity initiative, which seeks to explore greater integration among South Asian electricity grids, with connectivity extending towards Myanmar in Southeast Asia while excluding Pakistan. 

However, Aponsu stressed that Sri Lanka’s participation in the discussions did not amount to a final commitment to join the proposed network, with a policy-level decision still required from the Government. 

The development marks a potentially significant expansion of Sri Lanka’s discussions on cross-border electricity connectivity, which have thus far largely centred on the long-proposed bilateral grid interconnection with India. 

Sri Lanka and India are now participating in the wider regional discussions despite earlier negotiations over their bilateral grid interconnection having stalled. 

The latest discussions take place against the backdrop of the ADB’s Pan-Asia Power Grid Initiative (PAGI), a flagship regional programme aimed at strengthening energy security and facilitating cross-border electricity trade through greater integration of electricity systems. 

The ADB envisages the initiative being developed around four key areas – infrastructure development, regulatory harmonisation, innovative financing, and institutional readiness – with approximately $ 50 billion expected to be mobilised to expand affordable, reliable, and cleaner energy connectivity across the region.

Regional electricity integration has increasingly emerged as a key element of the ADB’s energy strategy for South Asia, with existing electricity trade between India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan providing a basis for expanding cross-border cooperation. The ADB has also specifically identified potential grid connectivity involving Sri Lanka as part of the region’s future integration. 

For Sri Lanka, however, the proposed regional initiative comes amid long-standing discussions over establishing an electricity interconnection with India. 

The two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2010 to conduct a feasibility study for connecting their electricity grids. The study was subsequently undertaken jointly by the then Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd., initially examining a 1,000 MW High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) interconnection. 

Successive technical studies have since examined different routes and configurations for the proposed connection. 

At the time, the CEB’s long-term planning had also highlighted the potential benefits of cross-border electricity interconnections, particularly due to differences in natural resources as well as daily and seasonal electricity demand patterns among South Asian countries. 

Nevertheless, the India-Sri Lanka interconnection has faced questions over its financial viability and implementation costs. 

Earlier feasibility assessments found that the project, under the configurations considered at the time, was not economically or financially viable, with the cost of submarine cables and HVDC technology among the major factors affecting the economics of the project. Further economic and financial assessments have therefore been envisaged as technical studies progress. 

There has also been opposition to the proposed interconnection from sections within the new iteration of the CEB. 

A senior electrical engineer attached to the National System Operator (NSO), who spoke to The Sunday Morning on condition of anonymity, cautioned that any agreement to connect Sri Lanka’s electricity system with a substantially larger regional grid should be preceded by comprehensive technical, economic, and financial studies. 

The engineer raised concerns over the considerable difference in the sizes of the Sri Lankan and Indian electricity systems and the possibility of Sri Lanka becoming increasingly dependent on electricity imports if adequate safeguards were not incorporated into future agreements.