Sri Lanka’s Parliament approves amendments to Electricity Act to boost renewable power generation
The government of Sri Lanka last week took steps to amend the country’s Electricity Act in a bid to liberalise the generation of electricity and provide a boost to the renewable energy generation sector.
The proposed amendment to the electricity legislation was passed in parliament by a majority vote last week.
The new amendment will make provision to allow any person to apply for a license to generate electricity; and has taken away the restriction imposed on a person to be eligible to apply for the issue of a generation license to generate electricity over and above the generation capacity of 25 MW and allows any person to apply for the same without any demarcation on the generation capacity.
Sri Lanka’s Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera informed parliament that the amendment was essential for the quick development of the renewable energy sector and vowed to keep the public informed of investments and plans for renewable energy.
The Minister also noted that it would encourage foreign direct investments (FDIs) as well as opportunities for local developers to participate in the country’s Renewable Energy Plans
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also welcomed the passage of the amendments to the Electricity Act.
“I welcome the adoption of the Sri Lanka Electricity (amendment) Bill. This allows rapid deployment of cost-effective renewable energy to the grid,” the Premier stated.
OSL take:
The Electricity Act amendment will pave the way to accelerate renewable energy generation projects in Sri Lanka. The country is facing a power crisis at present and is in need of immediate solutions in the form of renewable energy generation projects. The government of Sri Lanka has already adopted the policy of increasing the country’s renewable energy generation capacity to 70% by 2030. Therefore, Sri Lanka’s renewable energy generation sector has become a hotspot for business/investment opportunities. Many local companies engaged in renewable energy generation have posted impressive growth rates as well as profits, indicating the increasing business potential in the power industry, especially the renewable energy sector. Foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore the growing opportunities in the renewable energy sector.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20062022/Z_3 |