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Retreat from Sanity in the Power Sector

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by Parakrama Jayasinghe

Sanity has Prevailed No More Coal Power Plants” . This is the title of my article in the Sunday Island in October 2016 ( ) after the Secretary, Ministry of Power and Energy gave an undertaking to the Supreme Court on September 13, 2016 , that the proposed Sampur coal power plant will not be built. This undertaking did not result from the Ministry or the CEB exercising any rational reasoning of the insanity of continuing to push for more and more coal power plants, but due to the undeniable and obvious negative impacts of the proposed coal power plant laid before the Supreme Court. The writing was on the wall that if the plea by the Environmental Foundation Ltd supported by many other concerned organizations and individuals, if heard by the court would have resulted in the same outcome.

The euphoria felt by the country at large was spelled out by the first paragraph of my above article

“Sri Lanka and those of us who have battled for decades to highlight the dangers posed by use of coal for power generation, both for the environment in general and the health of the people without exception, can at last heave a sigh of relief. It is hardly necessary to emphasize that Sri Lanka not having any indigenous coal reserves, had no compulsion to even consider this option until all other options are exhausted.”

That was back in 2016. Anyone who has even a nodding acquaintance with the recent trends in the power sector in the rest of the world, would therefore be aghast to listen to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa declaring in the recent budget speech that a 300 MW coal power plant is proposed to be built at Norochcholai. It will be recalled that Rajapaksa in his Presidential Election Manifesto ” Vision for the Future ” declared

 

Indigenous energy resources will be developed to the optimum levels to minimise dependence on non-indigenous resources, subject to economic, environmental and social constraints. (Page 5)

 

This was in 2010. The changes in the last decade on all “economic, environmental and social constraints” without exception have made even consideration of any coal power plants totally insane._

And President Gotabaya Rajapakse went even further to declare a goal of achieving 80% renewable contribution to the energy sector by year 2030. As such there is absolutely no room for any more coal power plants as the present three are expected to continue to operate and limp along till then.

So we, the citizens are nonplussed by this turn of events with the Minister for Power and Energy Dulles Alahapperuma bragging in parliament (Nov 28, 2020) that work on the fourth coal power plant at Norochchloai will commence in two weeks.

Even though the Sampur coal power plant was shelved, the CEB never accepted that Sri Lanka could have a secure and reliable power supply in the future without depending on more coal power plants. Enough has been said about the harm being done by this power plant to the environment and the health of the people and will not be repeated here. The CEB continued its campaign to do further harm by proposing to add some 2,700 MW if coal power in their proposed Long Term Generation Plan for 2018-2037.

Fortunately the totally false assumptions and forecasts used to portray coal power as the least cost option was debunked by many and the PUCSL approved an amended proposal which had 4500 MW Natural Gas power plants instead of any more coal power plants. ( )

The CEB was not ready to accept this decision of the regulator, which is its legal responsibility and through its Engineers Union launched a campaign to discredit the PUCSL, the legally constituted regulator. The government did not have the backbone to lay down the law and tell the CEB authorities to abide by the LTEGP approved by the PUCSL. This would have been the procedure in any country when any licensee flouts the regulator’s orders and faces revoking of the permits issued to them. While in Sri Lanka, the country like no other irrespective of the government in power, such stipulations apply only to private sector developers of renewable energy.

Or does this portend the future way of doing things when there are rumblings of the Electricity Act to be changed to take away the powers of the PUCSL. The PUCSL has done yeoman service in past years to protect the rights of the consumers as well as the country, by debunking the totally fallacious arguments set forth by the utility, trying to pretend that coal power is the least cost option. Without an independent regulator for the sector, the CEB with the monopoly status could continue their totally irresponsible plans and programs.

It is unfortunate to see that they have managed to hoodwink the present government and the Ministry of Power and Energy as well, as they have continued to do so for several decades. The newest ploy was to propagate a myth of ” Clean Coal ” The fact that there is no such animal was clearly explained in the Article Dirty Coal Raising its Head disguised as “Clean Coal” ()

If these unwarranted and totally unwise power projects are permitted to go through, “The Vision for Prosperity and Splendour” of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa which the country hoped would embody the national policy of the present government, would be relegated to just an election manifesto like many others in the past, just promises with no intention of fulfilling.

But all that is required to reach a clear vision for the future of coal for electricity, is to view the dozens of postings on the internet. Many countries with vast indigenous coal resources are shelving plans for any more coal power plants and increasing numbers of existing coal power plants are being closed down. A few of these news item out of hundreds are listed below.

 

The World Scene – New Coal Plants canceled

Bangladesh’s Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources proposed 350 MW Gazaria coal plant be dropped. Bangladeshi government officials have confirmed almost 90 per cent of proposed coal power plants may be scrapped,

Coal power is no more a cheap option and it’s becoming more expensive for imported coal. -Mohammad Hossain, the Director General of the Bangladesh Power, Energy and Mineral Resources research body.

Maharashtra’s Minister for Energy, Nitin Raut, rejected construction of a new 660 megawatt (MW) coal unit at the aging 910 MW Nasik plant owned by the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company

Canada:

Donkin mine in Nova Scotia, which opened in 2017, closes

UK:

The 2000 MW Fiddler’s Ferry and the 1725 MW Aberthaw power stations have closed

Global coal power capacity declined by 21,200 megawatts (MW) in the first half of 2020 with the largest changes being the closure of 8300 MW in European Union countries and 5400 MW in the US,

Poland Could Phase Out Coal by 2030 in Business As Usual

French will close its 600 megawatt (MW) Provence coal plant in France two years earlier than planned.

Other countries shouldn’t settle for dirtier, high-carbon power projects now that China has decided to phase them out domestically, Han Chen in China Dialogue.

Romanian Government confirms no more coal plants to be built:

Marubeni Corporation, will exit from the consortium proposing to build the 630 MW Thabametsi coal plant in South Africa.

NGO groups in the Philippines have welcomed the decision by the South Korean utility KEPCO that it will not proceed with the proposed Sual 2 coal plant,

Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, said he would “fundamentally change Japan’s long-term reliance on coal fired energy” as the country moved to be carbon neutral by 2050

South Korea unveils 2050 carbon neutrality target. “We will create new markets and industries and create jobs by replacing coal power generation with renewable energy,”

Pakistan: Government considers ban on new plants that rely on imported gas and coal

( The web references to these news items are available if requested)

 

It is seen that these decisions come from all over the world and from many countries with their own coal resources. There is no earthly reason for Sri Lanka to take an opposite view, unless driven by private agendas. Furthermore the source of funding for coal power plants are also drying out.

 

No more Funding for New Coal Power Plants

Sumitomo announces suspension of loans for new coal plants

Review urges Asian Development Bank to support coal phase-out…

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has decided not to finance the proposed 1050 MW Lamu coal plant in Kenya.

Samsung’s key insurance affiliates pledge to halt coal investments

 

Coal is no longer the Least Cost Option

Solar and Wind power are now cheaper than coal in all countries. This has been proven time and again in Sri Lanka too as indicated by the responses to the recent tenders.

In addition to the concerns on the environmental damage the very clear evidence that Renewable Energy resources such as wind and solar are now far cheaper to generate electricity than even operating existing coal power plants. Therefore even on economic grounds opting for more coal power plants for Sri Lanka is sheer lunacy, unless of course there are other reasons which do not come into the public domain. Why this haste to commence work on a power plant in blatant violation of the Electricity Act as well as the due process for evaluating the environmental impacts? Maybe the plan is to get docile agencies to formulate the Terms of Reference and for conducting the EIAs as was done in the case of existing coal power plant, as well as in case of the Sampur coal power plant. It will be interesting to see to what extent the TOR will cover the recommendations by Dr Janaka Ratnasiri in his article (). In addition the SLEMA report on the externalities clearly shows that a minimum of Rs 10.00 per unit has to be added to the cost of generation from coal to cover the impact on the environment and the health aspects.

In this situation, a ray of hope is the directive given by the Chairman of the COPE that the Central Environmental Authority should have the jurisdiction to conduct the EIA process as the possible environmental impact would affect the whole country, beyond the boundaries of the North Western Province.

But then who knows to what extent the CEB or the Ministry will abide by the directions of COPE when they regard the directives of the Regulator PUCSL in utter disdain.

There are many Renewable Energy Projects and even Natural Gas projects already approved by the government , which will ensure the future energy security without resorting to this dirty coal option, whatever the effort to whilewash it.

As such Sri Lanka can only wait in hope for sanity to return as nothing seems to have changed in the power sector, irrespective of the change in government and lofty promises given.

 

Eng Parakrama Jayasinghe

E Mail:

28th Nov 2020



Features

‘Popular will’ and the democratic process in the US and outside

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Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

The just concluded presidential election in the US could very well have been the tightest ever such contest in the world’s ‘mightiest democracy’ in recent decades. With some reservations it could be said that the democratic system of government triumphed once again in the US and that the ‘popular will’ asserted itself.

It would have been preferable if the President of the US was elected only by the ‘popular vote’ or the majority of votes she or he directly polls countrywide but unfortunately this is not the case. The Electoral College (EC) system gets in the way of this happening effectively and it is gladdening to note that this issue is being addressed by the more reflective sections in the US. It is time for this question to receive the complete attention of the US’ voting public.

Hopefully, the ‘pluses’ and ‘minuses’ of the EC system would be fully examined by the US public in the days ahead. Right now, critics of the system could not be faulted for seeing it as distorting somewhat the ‘popular will’ or the overall preference of the US voting public in its choice of President.

The close contests between the contenders in what are termed the ‘Swing States’ helped highlight some notable limitations in the EC system. It ought to be plain to see that the requirement that the ‘winner takes all’ of the EC votes in these states needs urgent questioning and rectification.

However, the US and the world’s thriving democracies could take heart from the fact that there has been a legitimate transition of power in the US in the most democratic of ways possible at present for the US. Considering this it could be said that the US is continuing as a frontline, vibrant democratic state.

Not to be forgotten too is the fact that the elections to the US House of Representatives and the Senate have also been simultaneously completed on the basis of laid down legal procedures. That is, elections to all tiers of government have been concluded, testifying to the fact that the ‘democratic health’ of the US is unquestionable.

‘Democracies’ come in numerous forms and it is open to question whether a rigorous definition of the term could be given. Even some of the most authoritarian, autocratic and theocratic states prefer to call themselves ‘democracies’. At first glance, these considerations could lead to some bafflement but it could be stated that, generally, it is only those governing systems that lead to the total empowerment of people that could be considered democratic.

Defenders of and apologists for authoritarian and dictatorial regimes could shoot back on hearing the above observations that since their regimes satisfy the material needs of their populations, their states fully qualify for democratic status.

But the defenders of democracy, correctly understood, may beg to defer. The total empowerment of individuals and publics is realized only when the latter enjoy fundamental rights and freedoms, as enshrined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights, for example.

Accordingly, a regime that does not permit its people total Freedom of Speech and Thought, for instance, could in no way be seen as empowering its people. A regime that does not allow its citizenry the latter rights is repressive and undemocratic and is out of step with democratic development. In fact it is the latter process that even facilitates the material empowerment of publics.

Assessed on the basis of the above yardsticks, the US and other Western states, where fundamental freedoms are generally ‘alive and well’ could be considered democratic although absolute or perfect democracies could nowhere be found. Democracy is a process and it needs to be enriched and given greater depth, going forward. The process is long term and one which progressively evolves.

Besides the above considerations, advanced democracies are also characterized by multiple political parties that contest for power within the parameters of democratic principles. States that lack these essential attributes could not be considered democratic.

Going forward, states East and West need to be guided by the above principles because minus the multi-faceted empowerment of people, democratic development would not be possible. Seen from this viewpoint, it would be self-defeating for government leaders of the South in particular to consider opposition parties as inessential.

They need to also consider that there is no question of turning back the hands of time and reverting to strait-jacketed, one-party states of the Soviet era. These formations were thrown out by the relevant peoples themselves as incapable of ‘delivering the goods’ most needed by them.

The recent US presidential election campaign speeches were, for the most part, bereft of any substantive content. As a result, it’s difficult to predict as to the specific directions in which US foreign policy would evolve in the days ahead.

However, while a less pluralistic and ethnically accommodative US could be expected under Trump, a more inward looking foreign policy could very well be on the cards as well. A future Trump administration could see a lesser need to be committed to the Ukraine, for instance, and is likely to pursue more of an isolationist foreign policy which could see a gradual friction build-up between the US and its Western allies. Consequently, the cause of democratic development worldwide could suffer.

However, during one of her closing election addresses Presidential contender Kamala Harris left the world with a nugget of wisdom or two which would need to be treasured by policy planners and governments worldwide. She said, among other things, that one’s opponent should not necessarily be seen as one’s enemy. The latter should be spoken to in a most constructive fashion at the same table and be seen as having something essential to contribute towards nation-building.

The above is a stateswoman like pronouncement. If the international community is desirous of ushering a more peaceful world, Harris’ words would need to be dwelt on and consistently acted on. They come at a time when inhumanity internationally is more the norm rather than the exception.

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Amazing scene in Mexico…

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All the contestants, vying for the title of Miss Universe 2024, are having an awesome time in the city of Mexico. Sri Lanka is represented by Melloney Dassanayaka and she is doing great in the scene over there, according to reports coming my way. Says Melloney: “I’m having an amazing time in Mexico City, and meeting up with these beautiful ladies is incredible.”

She went on to say that she is super grateful for her incredible roommate, Miss Universe Canada! “She’s kind, funny, caring, and a true sweetheart who made this long pageant month, away from family, so much brighter.

“With her talent as a TV host, and her amazing spirit, I couldn’t have asked for a better companion on this journey. “Huge thanks to Miss Universe @missuniverse for connecting me with all these beautiful souls!”

Plenty of smiles for the cameraman

Melloney has also come in for a lot of praise on social media, with many wishing her ‘good luck’, as well as describing her as…

* Sooo beautiful

* Awww she is cute

* So pretty. Good luck

* Wow! She deserves the crown

The beautiful ladies, in the city of Mexico, are now busy rehearsing and getting themselves fine-tuned for the grand finale, scheduled for next Saturday, 16th November.

By the way, the four top beauty pageants in the world, for women, are (1) Miss Universe, (2) Miss World, (3) Miss Earth, and (4) Miss International.

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Importance of monitoring and follow-up action

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by Chandrasena Maliyadde

I have worked with all the Executive Presidents, except President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in different capacities during my tenure in the public service and even afterwards. The way they managed or rather mis-managed the economy was different from one to the other. The late President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s management style was unique, flawless and foolproof. He monitored and followed up each and every decision he made.

We used to keep notepads and pens beside our land phones. Mobile phones were not freely available at the time. The phone could ring any time after 4.00 am. The President would direct us to attend to a particular matter. By 10.00 am a second call would come from him, inquiring about progress.

With this system of monitoring and follow up he was able to establish 200 garment factories in the rural countryside, implement the first-ever government sponsored poverty alleviation programme, Janasaviya, one million Housing Programme, Gam Udawa Programme and the Rural Road Rehabilitation Programme within a period as short as four years.

The aforesaid anecdote will serve to show the importance of monitoring and follow-up.

During the past six weeks or so, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) has held meetings with all key Ministries and several other organizations and outlined his government’s plans and expectations. He gave directives related to Agriculture, Education, Power and Energy, Rural Development, Public Service, Exports, Tourism, Industry, Business and Enterprises. the President has underscored the urgency of accelerating and swift implementation of development projects. My intention is to examine how much these decisions have been followed up and translated into action. Considering the limitation of space, I decided to select one area to illustrate this i.e. the devastating flood and the havoc it brought a few days back.

On 14 Oct., the President held a meeting with officials to discuss the flood situation and the measures to be taken. The meeting was attended by the Secretaries to the President and Ministries of Finance, Defence and Disaster Management, Director General of Disaster Management Division, Disaster Management Centre National Building Research Organization and Meteorological Department and Senior Assistant Secretary of the National Disaster Relief Service Centre.

The President has emphasized, at this meeting, the need for a specific and sustainable programme to address the recurring flood situation in the country. He noted that frequent flooding requires long-term solutions for effective control.

Since then three weeks have elapsed; Rain has ceased; Flood victims are returning to their homes; No news on the emphasis on specific and sustainable programmes. Maybe it has to be reemphasized when the next disaster strikes. Until then there is no urgency.

Why is a Specific Sustainable Programme important?

Sri Lanka is a blessed island surrounded by Indian Ocean water but, is punished by water – lack of it, as well as abundance of it. “Water is a gift of nature and its management is man’s (of course woman’s as well) responsibility”.

The recent floods, landslides and the inclement weather brought havoc. Occurrence of heavy rainfall, floods and long droughts increased significantly over the recent years. Sri Lanka is being positioned among the top 10 countries at risk of extreme weather events by the Global Climate Risk Index. Floods are common and widespread among the most frequent weather-related disasters in Sri Lanka. Popular and common belief that disasters are natural is misleading.  Change of the weather is natural. But the disaster occurs when the weather changes intersects with human activities.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) emphasizes that human actions, such as deforestation, urbanization and inadequate infrastructure, worsen the impacts of events like floods, earthquakes and storms. Building in flood-prone areas and settling communities close to rivers and on mountain slopes increases the vulnerability to floods, transforming into a devastating disaster. Inadequate building norms, marginalisation of people and poor choices on land-use planning make natural disasters worse. Change of weather is a given but the disaster that follows can be avoided.

‘Climate Change’ has come to the top of the Agenda on international platforms. Human Activity is the Cause of Increased Greenhouse Gas Concentrations. Over the last century, burning of fossil fuels, like coal and oil (Sri Lanka is notorious for this), has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Taken together, these miserable and sometimes deadly effects are what have come to be known as climate change. Human activity is the primary driver.

World Bank 2018, South Asia’s Hotspots: The Impact of Temperature and Precipitation Changes on Living Standards. South Asia Development Matters has estimated that 87 % of Sri Lanka’s population lives in moderate or severe hotspots for disasters. Nearly half of Sri Lanka’s population lacks disaster preparedness, a key vulnerability factor aggravated by accelerating climate risks.

All the above findings point to the fact that disasters are not free from human intervention. Then disaster management arguably requires human intervention, too. We human beings, that include the agencies responsible for disaster handling, need to prepare a specific and sustainable programme to address the recurring disasters and to minimize the damage caused by them.

It was not reported that any of the agencies present at the meeting with the President held on the 14th has commented or qualified the President’s emphasis for a specific sustainable programme. This does not mean that nothing has happened in the past or no institutional and regulatory arrangements are in place. Sri Lanka is abundant in the solutions and technologies and legal and institutional network required addressing disaster management.

The government introduced the Sri Lanka Disaster Management Act in 2005. The Act provides the legal foundation and strategic directions and proposes an institutional structure and coordination mechanism from national to local levels. A National Council for Disaster Management (NCDM), a high-level inter-ministerial body chaired by the President and a Disaster Management Centre (DMC), was established. Subsequently a separate Ministry for Disaster Management was established.

The National Disaster Management Policy 2013, National Disaster Management Plan (NDMC) 2013- 2017, and National Emergency Operation Plan (NEOP) 2017 have been developed in accordance with the SLDM Act. Several other policies and plans, such as National Climate Change Adaptation Policy and the Plan, Water Conservation policy, Local Government Policy, Flood Protection Ordinance, National Land Use Policy, National Physical Plan and Policy and several sector-specific policies also contribute to Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in the country.

Integrated Water Resources Development: The Way Forward for Sri Lanka to tackle the Climate Crisis-UNDP  04 October 2023 suggests “In moving forward, Sri Lanka requires a two-track approach. First is to invest in our infrastructure. As this requires more funding and time, in parallel, integrated water resource management should be promoted, tapping into Sri Lanka’s 4,000-year-old cascade systems.”

The question is how, when and who would prepare the programme envisaged by the President, follow it up and monitor the progress?

There is already a National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) for 2022-2030 prepared in 2022 running into over 200 pages with 8 Chapters, 17 Annexures and 13 Figures. This plan guides all Ministries, Departments, Statutory bodies, officials of sub-national administrations (provincial Ministries and district divisional and local government); relevant officers and personnel from Governmental and UN Agencies, INGOs Non-Governmental organizations; civil-society organizations, private sector, and professional organizations in Sri Lanka.

NDMP would throw a lot of lights in preparation of the programme envisaged by the President. Only drawback is “The NDMP aims to set the 2030 strategic direction for Disaster Risk Management in the country, in line with the national development vision of the Government, “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor”.

A senior officer once told me “Chandre, when you prepare a report don’t worry too much about the content. But, make sure you have the picture of the President or the Minister on the front cover”. Following that saner advice one can replace “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor” with “A Rich Country-A Beautiful Life”.

There are two other plans (perhaps more) already prepared. One is the ‘National Drought Plan for Sri Lanka’ by the Ministry of Environment in September 2020; the other is the National Emergency Operation Plan (NEOP) formulated by the Disaster Management Centre in 2017.

The President has made decisions; issued directives; plans, policies, agencies, legal and administrative arrangements are in place. I believe that someone with command, clout and the will to organize an inter/multi-disciplinary/agency committee a). To peruse all relevant documents, reports and plans already in place; b). To set a time target and c). To assign the responsibilities to identified agencies/personnel. The Committee would meet from time to time and monitor the progress and provide assistance and instructions to resolve issues that arise during the implementation stage and follow up.

Sri Lanka has rich experience in such arrangements. I remember Secretaries such as Mr. Paskaralingam, Dr. Wickarma Weerasooria, who were known as super secretaries, have revived “Secretaries Committee’ to monitor the progress of directives and decisions made and follow up by resolving issues that arose in implementation. Dr. Lloyd Fernando, as the DG National Planning, facilitated and serviced the Committee. Mr. Dharmasiri Peiris a luminary in the public service, as the Secretary Ministry of Agriculture established a Committee consisting of players at both the centre and the Provincial level to ensure the Agriculture value chain is working smoothly. H. M. G. S. Palihakkara, the most illustrious Foreign Affairs Secretary, established an inter-ministerial Committee to follow up the developments in all the Ministries for the benefit of Sri Lankan Missions abroad as well as the respective Ministries.

This kind of hands-on experience and the experiments would be useful in establishing a mechanism for monitoring and follow up of directives and decisions made by the President.

Monitoring and follow-ups provide concrete evidence of outcomes.

(The writer is former Secretary to the Ministry of Plan Implementation. He can be reached on chandra.maliyadde@gmail.com)

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