Description

In a short period of time, the term “Energy crisis” has become one of the most common terms within Sri Lanka due to frequent power cuts. To give this term a technical value IEEE Power and Energy Society(PES) Student Branch Chapter of the University of Moratuwa had joined hands with the Electrical Engineering Society(EESoc) of the University of Moratuwa by organizing a panel discussion named “Energizing Sri Lanka”. The theme for the event was “Solving Sri Lanka’s present energy dilemma through scientific research and development”. The panel discussion “Energizing Sri Lanka” was held on the 19 th of February,2022 from 6.00 PM onwards via the Zoom platform as a virtual event. There were three panelists for the event that covered the three sub-topics Energy Policy Changes Towards Better Energy Mix, Renewable Energy Integration Challenges and Solutions, and Demand Side Management and Cost Reflective Tariff. They were Dr. Tilak Siyambalapitiya, the Managing Director at Resource Management Associates (Pvt) Ltd., Prof. Janaka Ekanayake, the Senior Professor and Chair of Electrical and Electronic Engineering of the University of Peradeniya and Deputy Chairman at Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, Mr. Kanchana Siriwardana, the Director (Tariff and Economic Affairs) at Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka. The moderator for this event was Dr. Narendra De Silva, the General Manager at Lanka Electricity Company (Pvt) Ltd. The discussion consisted of three main rounds. In the first round, the panelists were allowed to express their ideas on the relevant sub-topics, and in the second round, all the panelists were allowed to add their ideas to the others’ ones. In the third round, the audience was allowed to raise their questions, and very inquisitive questions were probed regarding the energy scenario. The moderator negotiated those rounds in a fruitful manner. The session had been held for around two hours. The event was concluded successfully and for the evidence of that the comments from the audience to organize another these kinds of events, invitations to take leadership to held workshops regarding this kind of topics, positive feedbacks and the participation which was more than 200 can be cited. Finally, it can be considered that the IEEE Power and Energy Society Student Branch Chapter, University of Moratuwa had added another feather in its cap by concluding “Energizing Sri Lanka” successfully, with the amusing collaboration of the electrical engineering society of the University of Moratuwa.