President Masa on 23 July appointed Priyantha Wijayatunga, as the new Energy Committee Chait following Ashok Bhargava’s retirement in June. Priyantha is currently Director of the Energy Division, South Asia Department (SAEN), a position he assumed in 2017.
Priyantha joined ADB as Energy Specialist in SAEN twelve years ago and has progressively assumed higher positions: as Senior Energy Specialist in July 2010; Unit Head, Portfolio Management at the Nepal Resident Mission in July 2012; and, Principal Energy Specialist in SAEN in October 2013. He had a brief stint with SDSC-ENE when he moved to SDCC in January 2016, where he provides extensive support to operations departments while being actively involved in knowledge solutions.
Priyantha has over 32 years of professional experience in the energy sector. He holds a Doctorate in Power System Economics from the Imperial College, UK and a Bachelors’ degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.
Before joining ADB, he was the Founder Director General of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, a member of the Board of Directors of the Ceylon Electricity Board and the Sustainable Energy Authority, Sri Lanka, a member of the Steering Committee on India - Sri Lanka Electricity Grid Interconnection, a Chairman of the South Asia Forum for Infrastructure Regulators, Senior Professor of Electrical Engineering and a Rural Energy and Policy and regulatory Expert for USAID and UNIDO. He is a Chartered Electrical Engineer, a Member of the Institute of Engineering Technology (IET), UK, Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), US and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka.
The Energy Sector Group congratulates and sends its warmest welcome to Priyantha of this appointment and looks forward to the wisdom and guidance he will provide as the sector continues to push the envelope of innovation further in all aspects of its work to effectively support ADB developing member countries.