President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has announced plans to expand fuel storage to cover 45 days of supply, build two fuel pipelines and give households a subsidy for solar batteries, in the 2027 Budget presented in Parliament on Thursday.
A sum of Rs. 22.34 billion has been allocated for a jet fuel pipeline from Muthurajawela to Bandaranaike International Airport, together with storage facilities with a capacity of 92,000 metric tonnes.
The government has also called tenders for the Rs. 16,332 million Kolonnawa-to-Harbour Pipeline Project. It aims to cut fuel unloading time from 96 hours to 48 hours and is expected to be completed within 18 months.
Households installing new rooftop solar systems would receive a subsidy of Rs. 25,000 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of battery storage capacity, up to a maximum of Rs. 250,000 for systems with storage of up to 10 kWh. Rs. 3,500 million has been proposed for the programme.
The President also proposed removing the 10 percent Port and Airport Development Levy (PAL) on imported batteries used for solar energy storage.
Background
The President said each day of delay in unloading fuel currently costs the country about US$30,000 in demurrage, the payment made to shipping companies when a vessel is held up at port. The Kolonnawa pipeline is intended to reduce those costs.
Rooftop solar systems already feed power into the national grid. The new subsidy is aimed at households that add battery storage to those systems, which lets them store electricity generated during the day.
What it means
For households, the subsidy would cover part of the cost of a home battery, and removing the 10 percent levy would lower the import cost of the batteries themselves. These are proposals in the Budget Speech and need the necessary approvals before they take effect.
The President also announced free smart electricity meters for 300,000 consumers using more than 180 units of electricity. Consumers of the Lanka Electricity Company (LECO) who use more than 120 units will also receive smart meters.
The government said the measures are meant to strengthen energy security, improve fuel distribution and support the use of renewable energy in the national grid.
