• NSO seeks instructions and clarification from ministry

The National System Operator (NSO) is unable to immediately implement the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) directive to establish Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) capacity for solar energy by next year due to a lack of detailed implementation agreements and documents, NSO Chairman Dr. Pradeep Perera told The Sunday Morning.

He made the remarks in response to an inquiry about a directive issued by the PUCSL this week as part of its approved tariff decision, requiring the NSO to ensure that at least 450 MW of solar PV capacity with BESS is added to the electricity system by March 2027.

The measure is intended to address the forecast capacity deficit during the first quarter of 2027 and ensure sufficient capacity to meet peak demand without scheduled power interruptions caused by capacity shortages.

Speaking on the regulatory directive, Dr. Perera said that the NSO had only received the initial decision but lacked the practical guidelines required for execution. “We have only received the decision itself. We haven’t received the details on how to implement it yet,” Dr. Perera said, adding that the NSO had requested formal instructions and clarifications from the Ministry of Energy.

He stated that while some baseline numbers had been provided for BESS, concrete agreements and administrative documents had to be finalised before any work could begin. “To implement it, we need agreements and documents first. Those have not been issued to us by the PUCSL yet. At the moment, we are not in a position to implement this immediately.”

Dr. Perera also cleared up widespread public confusion and misinformation surrounding a recent directive regarding the disconnection of rooftop solar panels. He emphasised that the measure was strictly temporary and was driven by the sharp drop in electricity demand on Sundays.

“This is a temporary measure,” Dr. Perera clarified, correcting inaccurate reports circulating in the public domain. “It does not apply to residential households. It is actually requested for commercial and industrial buildings with solar installations exceeding 200 kW.”

The NSO requests these large-scale systems to temporarily disconnect on Sundays to balance the grid when overall industrial and commercial power consumption plummets.

Addressing concerns about a potential power crisis next year driven by the El Niño weather phenomenon, Dr. Perera said that the current grid management strategies were entirely unrelated to next year’s weather forecasts.

According to him, the national electricity grid is currently dealing with the opposite problem: a surplus of power generation. Due to sufficient water levels in reservoirs at the moment, the NSO has abundant hydroelectric resources, but it has had to deliberately restrict daytime hydro generation to prioritise absorbing solar power into the grid.

“Even though we have water, if we generate maximum hydropower, we would have to curtail solar power,” Dr. Perera explained. “We have restricted daytime hydro generation because we must absorb solar during the daytime.”

Looking ahead to next year’s climate challenges, Dr. Perera noted that the El Niño effect was projected to peak around April 2027. He claimed that the NSO had sufficient time to prepare and implement the necessary mitigation measures before then.

The PUCSL last week warned that Sri Lanka could face a fresh threat of power cuts as the prevailing El Niño conditions push up electricity demand while reducing hydropower generation.

The warning comes as the PUCSL approved new feed-in tariffs for electricity generated from renewable energy sources, with the revised rates coming into effect on 25 August. The tariffs will remain valid until 24 February 2027 and apply to renewable energy power plants, rooftop solar prosumers, and projects incorporating BESS.

Meanwhile, the Government earlier announced that the country was expected to begin connecting commercial-scale BESS to the national electricity grid in early September, with projects planned near 16 electricity transmission substations nearing completion.

Multiple attempts to contact Minister of Energy Anura Karunathilaka and Deputy Minister of Energy Arkam Ilyas were unsuccessful.