CEB restructure and solar hullabaloo

THE Government is going ahead with the CEB restructure process quickly and the Cabinet has reportedly signed off on the new Bill. As one of the contributors to this process by way of comments, the writer is moderately happy with the way the process has been handled and its progress. Ideally more consultation should have happened, but considering the importance placed on the price of electricity in the Government’s industrialisation agenda, striking an IMF and local critics looking with eagle eyes, the hurry to get on with it is understandable and criticism is not fair.

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Looks like a restructured CEB is going to be in place before the end of this year. In January 2025 the Regulator (PUCSL) handed down its determination on electricity pricing for the first six months of the year. Electricity prices were substantially reduced and things were going well until the 8 February blackout. Since then, CEB has been under fire about the fallout from the blackout and the subsequent speculation about an impending reduction in prices for solar tariffs for renewable energy.

This article aims to highlight some of the misconceptions and misreporting about the role of renewables in the electricity system system, stability concerns, electricity tariffs, profitability and the purpose.

Why is the CEB under fire?

CEB has not convinced the public about the real reasons for the 9 February blackout. Free reports have emerged and statements that contradict and confuse the public. This appears to be a cultural issue with the CEB, as we have seen a similar pattern in the past, when several such blackouts did occurred since 2006. However, even with the advent of a new Government with a positive change of servant culture, the same behaviour seems to be repeated. Hopefully, the sooner the restructure comes, the sooner we can see cultural and behavioural change.

CEB has been blamed for impending reduced feed in tariffs for renewable energy for new installations. However, this is not of CEB’s making and is really being discussed by the Government. In the past weeks the renewables industry has been making a lot of noise citing unfair treatment, involvement of mafias, impending financial losses and speculation that SL may not meet its own RE targets by 2030. Let’s try to understand the underlying reasons for these criticisms.

Are these criticisms justifiable?