- Claims billions in losses to the country
- Alleges CEB and Ministry failed to implement regulator recommendations
The Electricity Consumers’ Association (ECA) yesterday (10) stated that they would lodge a complaint with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) regarding the islandwide power outage on Saturday (9).
The ECA charged that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the Ministry of Power and Energy have not yet acted to implement the recommendations made by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) in 2022 to prevent sudden islandwide power outages, following a spate of several incidents.
Major power outages were reported across the country in the evening on Saturday, and the CEB attributed it to a breakdown in the transmission line from Kotmale to Biyagama.
Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (10), ECA General Secretary Sanjeewa Dhammika said that the power outage on Saturday was not the first that was caused by a breakdown in the Kotmale-Biyagama transmission line. "This sort of power outages took place both in 2021 and 2022 and caused massive losses to the country. Considering the issue, the PUCSL made several recommendations to prevent such from reoccurring including action against responsible officials, but the CEB and Power and Energy Ministry have ignored them."
Although the PUCSL had recommended several technical improvements following sudden power outages in 2021 and 2022, he said that none of such improvement has been made thus far. "The Norochcholai Power Plant has also gone un-operational. There is no reason why it becomes defunct because of a transmission line breakdown. If it happens in some way, the PUCSL has made recommendations to take remedial action regarding it too."
Dhammika claimed that the power outage on Saturday had caused a loss of around Rs. 2 billion to the nation, and that it should be recovered from those who neglected their responsibility.
"The electricity consumers have been exploited under the current Power and Energy Minister (Kanchana Wijesekera). That is because he is focused on privatising CEB rather than the people's wellbeing. Therefore, he should be removed immediately. The Ministry's Secretary, who has been granted a service extension should also be removed. We will lodge a complaint with the CID seeking a full investigation into this matter."
Minister Wijesekera, Ministry Secretary U.K. Mapa Pathirana, and CEB Chairman Nalinda Illangakoon were not available for comment.
While the CEB had told the media that lightning strikes on the Kotmale to Biyagama transmission line had caused the islandwide power breakdown on Saturday, the State Minister of Power and Energy Indika Anuruddha yesterday said in Parliament that two separate inquiries would be carried out by the Power and Energy Ministry and the CEB into the same.
The water supply in several areas had been disrupted or at low-pressure due to the power outages. The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) stated that it had however managed to restore the water supply in the affected localities within a few hours. The Mahaweli Authority had stated that several sluice gates of Polgolla, Victoria, Randenigala and Rantambe reservoirs had been opened as a result of the situation.