Ministry accelerates signing MOU with Adani Group for wind power plant in Mannar

 

Ministry accelerates signing MOU with Adani Group for wind power plant in Mannar: Charitha Herath

(Daily Mirror) By CHATURANGA PRADEEP SAMARAWICKRAMA 8 November 2023 

COLOMBO - According to reports, the Power and Energy Ministry is expediting the signing of documents for a Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with India's Adani Group to establish a new wind power plant in the Mannar basin with a capacity of 250 MW, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Prof. Charitha Herath said.

Addressing the media, he said the Ministry is ready to complete the signing of all agreements before November 25.

According to the 2009 Electricity Act, a bit of a process should be followed for local generation of electricity by any private company. But this process was not followed for projects conducted between two governments (government to government - G to G).

MP Herath said the current government is trying to sign all agreements while putting India's Adani Group into the act to pretend that the project is run between Sri Lanka and India.

He said the groups, including the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) chairman and General Managers, are in a hurry to complete all agreements before passing the new Electricity Act. These people are trying to give this project an unsolicited proposal.

After completing the project, the responsible groups are trying to sell one unit of wind power-generated electricity for Rs. 46, and these people are trying to sign this agreement for 30 years.

Meanwhile, fixing three new transformers at the Nadukuda Grid Substation was attached to the said project.

MP Herath said the current government is trying to sign all agreements while putting India's Adani Group into the act to pretend that the project is run between Sri Lanka and India.

The agreement signing process has been boosted these days, other than those mentioned in the agreements.

It has been estimated to sell one unit of electricity, which is currently being generating from Pooneryn Wind-Solar Hybrid Energy Park, at Rs.46. A total of 234 MW of electricity is generated from the Pooneryn wind-solar power plant.

The agreements on all other electricity generation projects were signed for twenty years, but the projects under India's Adani Group were signed for thirty years.

The officials at the Power and Energy Ministry and the CEB were requested to make a note that they were forced to make this agreement with any of the higher officials, such as ministers, because there would be a definitive investigation over this issue by the next incoming government, Prof. Herath claimed.

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