Engineers blocking renewable energy drive – Minister

Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said the country is experiencing a serious power crisis since engineers are eager only to generate electricity from thermal power.

“A power crisis has arisen in the country as CEB engineers are interested in generating electricity from thermal power plants depending mainly on diesel and furnace oil,” he added.

The Minister further said that a serious power crisis has arisen due to the method of generating electricity from fuel for a long time.The main reason for this situation is due to the engineers’ continued implementation of generating electricity mainly from diesel rather than hydropower or any other environment friendly sources.

“We as a country should immediately start saving fuel while moving to generating electricity from renewable energy projects such as solar power and wind power,” he added.

He made these views while participating in the donation of livelihood development equipment for various social service organizations around Maharagama recently.

Speaking on the present COVID-19 pandemic he said that an unprecedented pandemic is looming over the world. Even rich countries are facing a major crisis due to the pandemic.

The government is now trying to save the lives of the people first.

The fuel price has gone up due to the war between Russia and Ukraine. As Sri Lanka’s energy generation has mainly been depending on petroleum, the country has to face numerous difficulties.

“Let’s produce what we can in the country, locally. We can generate electricity for our homes from solar power with solar panels. If there is a surplus, we can sell it to neighboring houses,” he further said.

“We have to face the future very carefully. When you have money, save something for the future without spending everything,” he noted.