The inaugural ceremony of a national programme to transform State sector buildings into renewable energy centres will be held under the patronage of Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake at the Finance Ministry on January 9 at 10 am.
The programme will be promoted islandwide under President Maithripala Sirisena’s ‘Sustainable Development Initiative’ and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s ‘Economic Policy Statement’.
Sri Lanka has taken the initiative to find solutions to the global energy problem by making proposals through Budget 2017 to the issue.
The dearth of energy sources is a global issue as supply of energy does not meet the increasing demand. Alternative energy sources are introduced amid the increasing demand for energy. The supply has failed to meet the demand. The success of the development agenda of Sri Lanka will depend on the success of harvesting renewable energy.
The country's power generation is 4,000MW. However, the demand for energy will increase up to 5,300MW by 2020 due to development projects. It will rise up to 7,500MW by 2025. Preparing to face the challenge is the responsibility of any farsighted government.
The government has planned to provide financial assistance to households where their monthly electricity bill exceeds Rs.2,000. They will be able to transform their current source of energy into a renewable energy basis under the project. The government will provide a bank loan of Rs.150, 000 per household for the purpose. The government will bear 50 percent of interest for such loans. Rs.1, 500 million has been allocated by Budget 2017 for the project.