The main Parliamentary Opposition Party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) alleged that the Government is planning to reduce the amount of money paid to solar panels.

At a press briefing held yesterday (11), SJB Parliamentarian S.M. Marikkar alleged: “When the United States Dollar (US $) (against the Sri Lankan Rupee) was at Rs. 180, Rs. 22 was paid for (a unit of) solar power. When the $ was at Rs. 350, Rs. 37 was paid for solar power. When the $ had declined to Rs. 300, Rs. 27 was paid for solar power. According to what has been reported to us, the Government is taking steps to reduce the rate of Rs. 27-16.”

He made this statement with regard to the 9 February island-wide power outage, where the Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) engineers had said that the amount of electricity generated through solar panels was too high. Adding that it was the CEB that promised to generate 1,000 megawatts (MW) by installing solar panels at homes within a period of 10 years, Marikkar said that at present, such solar panels generate around 1,200 MW. He added: “Generating power through solar panels affects the coal and diesel mafias. The Government must find out who is behind this. Will the Government continue to allow these mafias to do what they want?”

In a context where the Government has vowed to eradicate corruption including in the energy sector, Marikkar added, the Government must investigate the present crisis in the energy sector instead of resorting to blaming the previous Government and monkeys’ interferences. He further spoke about how these challenges may affect the country’s efforts to expand renewable energy-based power generation methods.

Energy Ministry Secretary Prof. K.T.M. Udayanga Hemapala was not available for immediate comment.