Policy

Sri Lanka will inaugurate a decade of power development from 1999 to 2009, in which every household in the country will be provided with electricity, and installed capacity will be boosted.

Substations will be developed this year to expand the supply system. The Ceylon Electricity Board signed an agreement with a German company to develop 14 substations. Currently, only 52 per cent of households in the country have access to power, up from 43 per cent in 1994.

The government will spend $24 million next year. The programme has been estimated at $2.9 billion.

To boost generating capacity a proposed coal-fired power plant is to be commissioned at Kalpitiya in the north-western province of Sri Lanka. This will be built in three phases, each with a capacity of 300 MWe.

A further three power plants, with an aggregate capacity of 370 MWe, will be built with aid from Japan’s Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund and private sector involvement.

Several hydro projects will be inaugurated during the decade. These include the Kukuleganga project, where work has begun. Construction of the Upper Kotmale hydropower scheme is due to start next year.