Paving the way towards an Energy Secure Sri Lanka

A guest lecture was delivered by Eng. Harsha Wickramasinghe (Deputy Director General-DSM) of SLSEA on ‘Empowering Consumers Through Clean Energy Transition’ at CAA on 15^th March 2023 at Metropolitan University Auditorium.

It was conducted in par with the commemoration of World Consumer Rights Day by Consumer Affairs Authority in Colombo.

 Minister of Trade, Commerce and Food Security Hon. Nalin Fernando and other distinguish guests graced the event.

The Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) launched a pilot refrigerator replacement project at BMICH on 17th February 2023 to encourage refrigerator suppliers to join the voluntary energy labeling programme and educate the public on the Minimum Energy Performance (MEP) Label. The MEP label was introduced to 15 models of refrigerators offered by three major appliance vendors, allowing the customers to choose an efficient model for their next purchase. Chairman and Director General (DG) of SLSEA, Chairman of Lanka Electricity Company, DG of Sri Lanka Standard Institution and DG of National Engineering Research and Development Center attended this event.

The pilot project aims to replace 1,000 old household inefficient refrigerators with new MEP labelled and energy-efficient refrigerators in the Western Province, with an estimated saving of 480,000 kWh of electricity per year. This translates to an approximately 30% reduction in the electricity bill of a typical participating household. The pilot project will be used to measure and document the actual savings and test an elaborate network of disposal for discarded refrigerators and related hazardous materials. The pilot project is expected to be expanded to cover the whole country, removing 500,000 old inefficient units within five years, with an estimated saving of 500GWh of electricity (approximately 3% of the national electricity use).

Awareness on energy conservation was held at Athurugiriya South Sanasa Bank on 27^th November 2022. Eng. Saman Elvitigala (Director-Surveys & Research) conducted it as the resource person from SLSEA. The total of 300 of Sanasa depositors & staff attended the programme.

It was conducted for an official request made by Mr. Malinda Gunarathne the Chairman of Athurugiriya South Sanasa bank.

Awareness on energy conservation was held at WP/KE/Gurukula National College on 21^st October 2022. Eng. Kalanika Hewage (Asst. Director-EEI) conducted it being the resource person of SLSEA. The total of 250 of students & teachers attended the programme. Quiz programme too was conducted in par with the awareness & winners received LED bulbs as gifts.  

It was conducted for an official request made by the principal of Gurukula College Principal Dr. K J Fernando in par with college annual science day ‘Industria 22’.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Sri Lanka Energy Program signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) on 02.09.2022 to develop the National Energy Benchmarking Portal, which assists businesses track, benchmark, and reduce their energy consumption.

The Chairman of SLSEA Eng. Ranjith Sepala, Director General Eng. J M Athula & Deputy Director General (DSM) Eng. Harsha Wickramsinghe attended the event. Mr. Christopher Powers head of economic growth at USAID Sri Lanka, other delegates of USAID & officials of Sri Lanka Energy programme graced the occasion. 

Developed by the USAID Sri Lanka Energy Program on behalf of SLSEA, the portal will collect consumption data from the commercial and industrial sectors. This will allow SLSEA establish respective consumption benchmarks for each sector. Moreover, this portal will allow the comparison between individual businesses and the sector as a whole and provide data to assist the businesses make informed decisions on strategic investments. 

Businesses and consumers will be required to register their facilities through creating an individualized account, where they will record consumption data periodically.

A motivation lecture was delivered by Gen. Daya Rathnayake the former Army Commander in Sri Lanka for the SLSEA staff on 26.08.2022 with the invitation of Eng. Ranjith Sepala the Chairman of SLSEA.

It is a new concept of Eng. J M Athula the Director General of SLSEA adopted to conduct a series of lectures in order to improve the performance of SLSEA through the motivation of SLSEA staff.

Mr. J M Athula assumed duties on 15th August 2022 as the Director General of Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA). The Chairman (SLSEA) Eng. Ranjith Sepala and officials from Ministry of Power & Energy graced the occasion.

He is the former Director of Renewable Energy at SLSEA. Mr. Athula is an Engineering graduate of the University of Peradeniya, Master of Engineering of the University of Moratuwa and also a Chartered Engineer of Institute of Engineers of Sri Lanka (IESL).

He has contributed to popularise the Renewable energy in Sri Lanka in numerous manners.

New Director General of Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority

The Energy journalist training programme was inaugurated at SLSEA board room, in Colombo-07 on 07^th June 2022. Eng. Harsha Wickramsinghe (Deputy Director General) & Eng. Sanath Kirthsiri (Director-Industrial Services) conducted lectures as key resource persons of SLSEA. Twenty five selected journalists from media leading institutions attended the training. It is a one year certificate level training programme which includes a series of lectures and site visits.

A Training workshop was for Energy Managers held at Bureau of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation (BCGR), at Battaramull on 26^th April 2022. Mr. Sanath Kirthsiri (Director-Industrial Services) conducted it as the key resource person of SLSEA. Sixteen newly appointed Energy Mangers of Senapura, Kandakadu, Vauniya rehabilitation centers and the head office attended the workshop. Practical sessions will be conducted in the relevant sites next month.

It was conducted on the invitation extended by the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation from SLSEA.

SLSEA participated the above exhibition held on 29^th-30^th March, 2022 orginsed by the Commercial Bank to create a platform for entrepreneur skill development. It was held at ‘Diyata Uyana’, Battaramulla attended by large number of entrepreneurs. The chairman of SLSEA Eng. Ranjith Sepala attended the inauguration ceremony along with the other distinguished invitees.

We were invited to be a in it by having an information desk to provide information to SMEs.

Awareness on energy conservation was held at Mas Holdings Silueta (Pvt) Ltd, at Biyagama factory staff on 28th March 2022. Mr. Sanath Kirthsiri (Director-Industrial Services) conducted it being the resource person of SLSEA. The total of 80 attendance of Silueta factory attended the programme. Quiz programme too was conducted in par with the awareness & winners received LED bulbs as gifts.

It was conducted for an official request made by the Management of Mas Holdings from SLSEA.

His Excellency the President visited the Sustainable Energy Authority of Sri Lanka, the regulatory body in the field of renewable energy, today, 18/02/2022.

The purpose of this visit was to explore the possibility of using 70% of the total electricity generation from renewable energy by 2030 as stated in the “Vistas of Prosperity” policy framework of His Excellency the President.

The President personally inspected every aspect of the institution and inquired about the work being done by those divisions in relation to the energy sector.

He also paid special attention to the Solar Energy program and inquired about the 422 megawatts of solar power added to the national grid through the Solar Energy program, and also discussed the possibility of speeding up the construction of large scale solar power plants in the future.

He also explored the potential for energy efficiency and conservation to contribute to the current energy crisis in the country. Another objective of the visit was to look into the delays in approving new renewable energy projects and to expedite those projects.

Duminda Dissanayake, State Minister of Solar, Wind and Hydro Power Generation Project Development, Wasantha Perera, Secretary to the Ministry, Hemantha Samarakoon, Secretary to the Ministry and several senior officials of the CEB were also present on the visit.

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The Director General of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Sri Lanka addressed the workers on the task assigned to him to make the aspirations of the people of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka a reality and said, "Let us all work together to achieve energy goals in the face of the economic challenges facing the country."

Afterwards, the Chairman addressed the employees of the company and stated that we are committed to achieving the target of 70% of the country's energy needs by renewable energy by 2030 and achieving 30% energy savings.