Features

A trip to Italy and my father’s death in Australia

Published

3 years ago

2023/04/9

Thilina Walpola

Supreme Court Victoria

by Nimal Wikramanayake
(Excerpted from A Life in the Law)

Anna Maria’s father died on her birthday on 8 October 1970. Due to economic constraints and exchange control regulations in Ceylon, we were unable to attend the old man’s funeral. Anna Maria had not seen her mother, who was getting on, for nearly 12 years. Anna Maria was coming up for her first five-year long service leave at Cabrini Hospital. We decided to go to Italy on a holiday and spend some time with her mother.

It was July 1977 when we arrived in Rome on a hot, steamy morning. We wandered around in the Fiumicino Airport before we took a plane to Venice that afternoon. We were booked on an Alitalia flight and such flights in Italy were an exhilarating experience. Alitalia normally overbooked its flights so it was a simple question of first come first served – not who bought his or her ticket first, but who got onto the plane first.

At the terminal we got on to the bus, which was to take us to the plane. When we got off the bus a 100 feet from the plane, the Italians charged towards the plane with Anna Maria leading the way. She was an expert in dealing with this type of travel, and used her elbows with great ferocity. I sheepishly lagged at the back of the crowd. When I got onto the plane I found that Anna Maria had managed to reserve a seat for me.

It was then that the comedy unfolded. As usual, there were about 10 people standing in the aisle without any seats. There followed the typical Italian pandemonium, with the standing passengers screaming and yelling at the stewards and stewardesses. As usual, the Carabinieri were called and after the standing passengers were escorted off the plane, we took off for Venice.

We arrived there an hour later and drove up to Asolo. I will not bore you with details of our visit to Italy. (I hate it when I am invited by my friends for dinner and after dinner they produce photographs of their holidays, which should only be of interest to them.) But we spent one memorable day in Venice on July 16 – on the Feast of the Redeemer. We met Tony Lopes and Jack Keenan of the Victorian Bar, and his wife Elspeth Keenan under the bell-tower in St Mark’s Square. We watched an exhilarating fireworks display and then Tony suggested we have dinner.

We wandered around and found an expensive restaurant. This was before the days of credit cards and my heart sank. The holiday had severely depleted my finances and I shuddered when I saw the prices on the menu, even though it was 1,000 lira to the Australian dollar. Fortunately, Tony rose to the occasion and insisted on paying for the meal.

The holiday was uneventful save for two things. I read Voumard (second edition) from cover to cover on the plane going over to Italy and again on the way back. When we were nearing Melbourne, and the pilot announced that we would be landing at Tullamarine in half an hour, all the passengers got up and cheered. It was good to be back home. Sadly this does not happen when one is arriving at Melbourne today.

My father

By 1978 I had settled into my daily grind, with a rare foray into the Supreme Court. By this stage, I had ceased to do any criminal or family law work.In July I brought out the third edition of Voumard relating to the sale of land in Victoria, with the consulting editor, Sir Alistair Adam, being responsible for inserting the relevant authorities in the appropriate places.

Early on in my practice, I had ceased doing work in the personal injuries field as I was only receiving briefs from plaintiffs’ solicitors. In this area of the law, a barrister does not get paid until the successful completion of the plaintiff’s case. If the plaintiff is unsuccessful, then there is no possibility of being paid for one’s efforts.

As I was confined mainly to the commercial area of the law, I could see no future for myself other than being a County Court hack.I used to have lunch once a month with my friend Jacob Okno, a solicitor, and he reassured me regularly that I would make a name for myself one day as a result of my association with Voumard: The Sale of Land in Victoria.

Towards the end of the year, Anna Maria and I drove up to Sydney to spend time with my parents. An interesting feature of this visit was that a brief had been delivered to me to advise on a complicated trusts matter. I took it to Sydney and showed the brief to my father. He thought for a moment, and despite the fact that he had had a couple of heart attacks and was suffering from acute heart failure, he gave me the answer in five minutes. The drive to and from Sydney was very uncomfortable as the temperature was in the high 30s and our car did not have air-conditioning.

The following year 1979 was soon upon me and the months plodded on mechanically and monotonously. But in August of that year I received a telephone call from my brother who told me that Dad, having gone out to celebrate my mother’s birthday on August 7, had suffered a massive heart attack and was dying. I had looked up to him all my life, for unlike most boys who stop appreciating their fathers when they grow up, he was my hero and I could not contemplate life without him.

I was sobbing in my room when my friend Tony Lopes walked in and asked me what had happened. I told him that my father was dying and Tony left abruptly. Half an hour later, his wife Marilyn came in to console me. I thought this gesture of Tony’s was really heart-warming.

Dad survived this heart attack but then had a series of further heart attacks. I decided to go to Sydney with Anna Maria and celebrate his 77th birthday on December 7, at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Life was extremely hard financially and we were always without money. I could not afford the plane fare for both of us to go to Sydney so my elder brother paid for our tickets.

I was then briefed to appear in a case in the Supreme Court of Victoria on December 6, 1979. The case, I thought, was a relatively simple one. If my recollection serves me right, it was an action brought by a partner, a woman, against her de facto. She had paid a deposit on a property but both parties were registered as proprietors of the property. They had both taken out a mortgage for 80 per cent of the value of the property.

I raised an argument that since the de facto was a party to the mortgage, he had an equity in the property commensurate with the mortgage and therefore a division of the proceeds had to be in accordance with that principle. The Supreme Court judge hearing the case, Justice Sam Gray, kept sniggering throughout my submissions, saying that there was no basis for such a submission. Ultimately I could not stand his sniggering anymore and I told him, “Your Honour, my submissions are not a matter for levity.”

I had been only seven years at the Bar in Victoria but I had had 13 years’ practice in Ceylon. The judge glared at me and said, “Would you mind repeating yourself?” I was aware of my father’s advice that I was entitled to be treated with respect by any judge I was appearing before. The judge obviously thought that I would withdraw my statement, but I said, “Your Honour, it is fairly obvious that you are not possessed of my arguments. I reiterate that my submissions are not a matter for levity.”

The case went on to the morning of December 7 and I told the judge that my father was dying in Sydney and I had to catch a flight at 2.30 pm. He delivered judgment that day, entering judgment for the wife. A short while later the High Court delivered judgment in the case of Calverley v. Green and restated the proposition I had put to the Supreme Court judge to the effect that a registered proprietor of property who was a party to a mortgage had an equity in the property commensurate with half the registered mortgage to which he was a party. My client, however, was disgusted with me and decided not have anything to do with me.

This story does not end here, for I appeared several times before that judge and lost every single case, including the unlosable case in December 1989. In that month I was appearing in a Supreme Court case and when the lists came out and I saw that this judge, Justice Sam Gray, was hearing the case, my heart sank. I went in to see my friend, Ross Howie, now retired Judge Howie of the County Court, and said to him, “Ross, I have an unlosable case tomorrow in the Supreme Court but I have drawn Judge Sam Gray and I am going to lose it”.

Sure enough, I lost the case.

Some years later, I was vindicated when two judges of the Supreme Court, Mr Justice Hayne and Mr Justice Smith – and later the Court of Appeal – held that Judge Gray’s decision was completely and utterly wrong. But by then everyone in the legal profession knew that I, the author of Voumard: The Sale of Land, had lost a significant case on land law.

I suffered a severe setback and it took me several years to recover. This, unfortunately, often happens to barristers who fall foul of judges. Judges often exact their vengeance on barristers in this most unprofessional way. We have no one to turn to for assistance.

My heart was in pieces when we got on the plane to go to Sydney that afternoon. Not only had I lost a good case, I had lost a solicitor who would never brief me again. I was also going to see my poor father who had a very short time left on this earth.

My brother picked us up at the airport and we drove to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Dad was seated on his bed, his head drooping. He looked completely lost and bewildered. My mother said, “Guy, here is your son Nimal. Why don’t you sing him that song you used to sing him when he was a little baby?”

Dad looked up at me with a puzzled expression on his face. My mother said, “You remember, Waltzing Matilda”

That was the first song my father ever sang to me when I was a baby. My father looked up and in a high-pitched squeaky voice said, “Walthing Tilamy, Walthing Tilamy …” and repeated this over and over again. It was heart-wrenching. Here was a man who had once been a lion of the Ceylon Bar, a brilliant advocate and a remarkable cross-examiner, now in this pitiful condition. Old Father Time certainly is ruthless and merciless. I thought to myself, Father Time will come to all of us, ultimately, and will be the only winner in the game of life. I took my emaciated, weak father in my arms and embraced him. There was nothing else I could do; I felt completely and utterly helpless.

That night, we went back to my mother’s little flat. We were woken at 2.30 am by ghastly loud shrieks. It was my mother screaming and yelling. My brother had telephoned to say that my father was going through another heart attack and was dying. He came over, picked us up and we rushed to the hospital. There was Dad, in bed with an oxygen mask over his face, throwing his arms about and shouting, “Porter, porter!”

We stood there helpless, wondering what we were to do. Mum, my brother and I were dumbfounded. Anna Maria rushed up to Daddy, cradled his head in her arms and started stroking his head saying, “Daddy, we will get the porter, we will get the porter, relax. He is having his dinner at the moment and will be here shortly.” Ultimately, she was able to calm him down.

Dad’s condition raised a number of questions in regard to euthanasia. His cardiologist wanted to turn the respirator off and let him die, as he was in a pitiful, hopeless condition. I would not have a bar of it. I did not want my father to die although he may have been suffering. Dad was suffering from severe heart failure and his end was very near. He died two and a half months later on February 23, 1980.

I remember one occasion in 1974 in Equity Chambers when Christopher Dane walked into my room one afternoon and said that his father had just died. He told the other barristers in chambers too. It was as if a bomb had fallen on Hiroshima. All the barristers packed up their things and left. They did not want to face the death of Christopher Dane’s father. I walked into his room later on that evening and asked him whether he was doing anything for dinner. He said no, so I invited him home. Grief is something that needs to be expressed and shared with others.

Death was approached in a completely different way in Australia in those days. The dead were left in cold, lifeless funeral parlours to await an equally morbid church service, and then they were either buried or cremated.

In Ceylon, the dead body used to lie at home for several days until all the family, friends and relatives had paid their respects. This process enabled those left behind to grieve adequately. I believe this pattern of behaviour is still carried on in Ireland. Today, however, the practice in Sri Lanka has reverted to the English practice where the dead are now left in funeral parlours.

During Dad’s funeral I tried to keep my emotions in check but when they played the hymn “Nearer My God To Thee” I broke down and started sobbing. I told Anna Maria, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

She put her arms around me and said, “Look, there is nothing to be ashamed of – just let yourself go’

I continued to sob throughout the service while my two brothers and my sister sat stoically throughout the ceremony.Anyway, when I returned to Owen Dixon Chambers on the Tuesday following my father’s death, no one came up to me to offer their condolences, even though the barristers were aware that my father had died.

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Features

Approach to constitutional reform

Published

57 mins ago

2026/05/4

Thilina Walpola

SWRD Bandaranaike

The S.J.V. Chelvanayakam KC Memorial Lecture delivered on 26 April, at Jaffna Central College, by Professor G.L. Peiris, an academic with outstanding credentials, was published, under the title, “Federalism and paths to constitutional reform,” in The Island of 27 April, 2026.

In Part II of the publication, titled “Advocacy of Federalism: Origins and Context,” Professor Peiris states: “At the core of political convictions he held sacrosanct was his unremitting commitment to federalism…”. Contrary to popular belief, however, federalism in our country had its origins in issues which were not connected with ethnicity. At the inception, this had to do with aspirations, not of the Tamils but of the Kandyan Sinhalese. The Kandyan National Assembly, in its representations to the Donoughmore Commission in 1927, declared: “Ours is not a communal claim or a claim for the aggrandizement of a few. It is the claim of a nation to live its own life and realise its own destiny”.

Commenting on S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike’s views, Professor Peiris states: “Soon after his return from Oxford, as a prominent member of the Ceylon National Congress, was an advocate of federalism. He went so far as to characterise federalism as ‘the only solution to our political problems”.

THE COMMON THREAD

The thread that is common to the sources cited above is that while their focus was on the political framework, there is not even a hint as to the territorial units to which the political framework of federalism is to apply. With time the Tamil “nation” claimed that their federal State was to be the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. However, the Kandyan “nation” was silent on this issue. Since Britain annexed the Kandyan Kingdom and the unified, then Ceylon in 1815, for all intents and purposes it would be reasonable to assume that the claim of the Kandyan “nation” was to be the region under the last Kandyan King, leaving the Western and Southern coastal regions for the Rest of the “nation”.

Chelvanayakam

Sri Lanka, while being a colony under the British, was not interested in political frameworks. Instead, the British were interested in structural arrangements that facilitated Administration. It is evident from the evolutionary processes explored by the British that subdivided units of a State are critical not only for effective Administration but also for the political framework that ensures political stability. Federalism, advocated by the Tamil and Kandyan Leaderships for territorial units, as claimed by them, would inevitably lead to political instability. The lesson to be learnt is not to start with political frameworks, such as Federalism, but to first decide on the territorial units, within which a State functions, to ensure stability, and then frame political aspirations of the People belonging to such a State, in order to ensure political and structural stability.

LESSONS of HISTORY

Material from an article, dated 16 June, 2016

“When the British took control of the Dutch possessions in former Sri Lanka, in 1796, the Kandyan Kingdom was independent and separate from the Maritime region. The Kandyan Kingdom consisted of the “central highlands with the eastern and southeastern coastal strips”. It was after ceding of the Kingdom, at the Kandyan Convention of 1815, and after the rebellion of 1817-1818, that the two regions were merged. However, despite the merger, the administration of the two regions remained divorced from each other, with the Kandyan region being divided into 11 Districts, and the Maritime region into five, creating a total of 16 Districts for the administration of the whole country (Sir Charles Collins, Public Administration of Ceylon, 1951, p. 49).

“The above arrangements continued until the recommendations of the Colebrook – Cameron Commission. In 1832, the recommendations of the Commission were accepted , “… and the separate administrative system for the Kandyan provinces was abolished and amalgamated with the territories on the littoral acquired from the V.O.C. in a single unified administration structure for the whole island. The existing provincial boundaries within the two administrative divisions – the Kandyan and maritime provinces – were redrawn, and a new set of five provincial units, of which only one – the Central Province – was Kandyan pure and simple, was established. The new provincial boundaries cut across the traditional divisions and placed many Kandyan regions under the administrative control of the old maritime provinces” (K.M.de Silva, A History of Sri Lanka, 1981, p. 263), continued until as late as 1889, resulting in nine Provinces for the sole purpose of facilitating the Colonial administration. In point of fact, the Province never functioned as the administrative unit. Instead, the administrative unit was essentially the District, and the situation has remained so throughout the Colonial period and into this day. According to Sir Charles Collins cited above: “Most provinces were divided into districts, each Government Agent having charge of his own district, with general supervision over the whole province. The districts not in the direct charge of Government Agents were under the control of assistant Government Agents”. (Ibid, p. 62.)

PRIORITISING POLITICS OVER STABILITY

The lesson learnt by the British was that if a Colony is to be Administered effectively, the Colonizer had to choose the most appropriate unit of administration. Similarly, to an Independent Sovereign State, Territorial Stability should be its foremost priority. This means deciding on the most structurally secure territorial unit within which political power sharing should operate and not prioritise political frameworks, such as Federalism, at the expense of the structural stability of the State. Political instability would have been inevitable had Sri Lanka succumbed to pressures from the Tamil and Kandyan Leaderships.

Although Britain was not concerned with territorial stability, they recognised that the District was the most effective unit for effective administration. In fact, the 1977 Constitution describes the Territory of Sri Lanka in terms of Administrative Districts. Despite this, it was the Indo-Lanka Accord that first recognised the Northern and Eastern Provinces as political units. Following this, the 13th Amendment of 1987 extended this recognition to all Provinces.

The adoption of the Province as the political unit may not have had an impact on the territorial integrity of the Sri Lanka State, except for the Northern and Eastern Provinces, judging from the events that followed over three-plus brutal decades. The transformation of the territory of Sri Lanka, from Administrative Districts to Provinces and Provincial Councils, is the direct result of prioritising politics over territorial stability. For India to be the handmaiden of this transformation is beyond comprehension because instability in Sri Lanka, in whatever form, would impact on India’s own territorial integrity. This serious blunder cannot be ignored any further for the sake of both Sri Lanka and India. It is imperative that measures are taken to engage in a course correction through Constitutional Reform.

PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS

The path to Constitutional Reform should start with the territorial subdivision of the Sri Lankan State into Districts, not only to ensure the territorial integrity of the State but also to improve administrative and development efficiencies coupled with Local Government units; a lesson learnt from the British. Any political powers devolved/decentralised to Districts should be the responsibility of District Councils, elected by representatives to Local Governments within each District.

Political power at the Centre should reflect the commitment to a single Sri Lankan Nation, through an elected Legislature, with Executive Powers being shared by a President/Prime Minister, with a Cabinet made up of all communities, in the ratio represented in Parliament. An attempt to share Executive Power with all communities, in an inclusive Cabinet, has not been the practice in the past, and under the present government, as well, despite its strident calls for unity and reconciliation. Consequently, the tendency for minority communities is to seek peripheral power to the maximum extent possible.

CONCLUSION

The approach to Constitutional making has been how best to accommodate political power in the form of Federalism, first by the Kandyan “nation” and later by the Tamil “nation”. The claim by the Tamil Leadership morphed from Federalism to a Separate State resulting in tragedies of an unimaginable order, to the point of threatening the very existence of the Sri Lankan State.

The current arrangement is based on Power being devolved to Provinces, in the form of Provincial Councils, with no regard the Province, makes to the territorial durability of the Sri Lanka State. How successive Governments hope to prevent threats to territorial vulnerabilities is to curtail the operation of sensitive provisions of devolved powers. This is being disingenuous.

On the other hand, the more direct and forthright approach to Constitutional Reform is to make the District the unit of peripheral power in order to ensure territorial stability and effective peripheral development and share Executive Power with communities in the ratio of their representation in the Legislature. The first could be achieved through a referendum and the second by the President/Prime Minister of any government. This approach prioritises territorial stability over political power; a change that has eluded policymakers. Therefore, it is imperative that territorial stability is given the foremost place in Constitutional Reform processes for the sake of not only Sri Lanka but also for India, for reasons of connectivity.

by Neville Ladduwahetty

Features

Time to get ready to face power

Published

1 hour ago

2026/05/4

Thilina Walpola

The power cuts are already here. Perhaps, even before the date predicted by the Public Utilities Commision of Sri Lanka (PUCSL. The peak load has gone well past the threshold they indicated as the tipping point of 3030 MW of peak load. It is now will past 3100 MW and growing, perhaps triggered by the continued heatwave making the use of air conditioners and fans more frequent and by a wider group of consumers. The government insists there is no intention of power cuts but each of us have experienced some form of power outage, without notice, at some time or other.

It is in this scenario that the Ceylon Electricty Board (CEB), or whatever it is called now, had directed all roof top solar projects, over 300 MW capacity, to shut down for the period 10th April to 20th April.

This is in addition to the curtailment of all ground mounted solar and wind projects, and even mini hydro projects, without compensation, going on for some months.

One year of inaction by CEB with the problem staring in the face

If will be recalled that the same demand was made in April, 2025, after the debacle of the countrywide blackout on 9^th February, 2025, whether caused by a monkey or otherwise.

The question to be raised is what steps have been taken by the then CEB, or the Ministry to anticipate the situation this year, too, and to try and mitigate the same.

The easy answer is absolutely nothing. If at all what has been done is unilaterally prevent any further addition of Roof Top Solar PV, under the provisions of the Surya Bala Sangramaya (SBS), is, undoubtedly, the only short term and economical means to add low cost renewable electrical energy to the grid.

The architect of the SBS, the Sustainable Energy Authority is deafening by their silence, when their signature project of prime national importance has been sabotaged, and now even the performance of the already installed systems are being curtailed.

This action is totally unbelievable when the use of expensive oil-based generation will continue unabated, even during the day, when there is so much solar energy already installed. Of course, the age-old excuse will be trotted out, of the non-firm nature of Solar and Wind and problems of grid stability, etc.

Many useful and practical solutions to face the growing issue of how to integrate the essential low cost but variable resources of solar and wind to the grid as an aftermath of the blackout were discussed over a year ago.

But nothing seems to have even been attempted. The most prominent among these was the proposal to add 300 MW of grid scale batteries, as indicated in the already-approved Long Term Electricity Generation Plan ( LTEGP 2024 – 2044,) of which 100 MW should have been in use by 2026. The tender for the addition of 16 X 10 MW battery storage at selected grid substations was called over a year ago. Some expectation of sanity

It is under these circumstances that the PUCSL called for a stakeholder consultation on the 10th April, 2026, after circulating a concept note, which was well attended. It was a breath of fresh air, in view of the downhill slide of the entire electricity sector in the recent months compounded by the raging controversy of the coal scam and the rapidly increased use of expensive diesel, in addition to the other fossil fuels, just to keep up the generation to match the demand. The double whammy of the doubling of the fuel prices , exacerbated the hit on not only the consumer’s monthly bill, but the national economy and balance of payments.

Therefore, it was most encouraging to note from the PUCSL’s concept note that sanity has prevailed at last. We have been demandin–g some concrete strategies and time based targets to rid at least the electricity sector from the use of expensive, polluting fossil fuels, commencing with oil. This is the only means by which the utility could hope to achieve some degree of economic and financial viability. They have continued to burden the consumer and the country by continually jacking up the consumer tariff, while ignoring any prudent means to clean up their Act. As a matter of interest, the CEB’s own data of 2023 shows that it is possible to save some Rs 113 Billion annually by replacing all oil-based generation using renewables. The country could have saved over $ 700 Million in Foreign Exchange and the Consumer Tariff could have been lowered by Rs 7.00 per Unit across all segments of consumers.

Therefore, the PUCSL concept paper out lines, some credible measures to eliminate the use of all of forms of oil for power generation in stages. The three tier of approach, outlined as option 1 to 3, reproduced here, should be commended for adopting a pragmatic approach, with very good chance of success.

Proposed options by PUCSL

(See Options 1 Peak Shaving Approach by 2027 and Option 2: Eliminating 2.06 GWh/day of diesel-based generation)

Considering even the recent past when we achieved a status of zero oil use, as compared to the present sorry status, this is not an extremely difficult task. We will have to substitute Solar PV to bridge the gap of reduced Hydro during dry months.

(See diagram 1)

RE Contribution 69% % Oil Usage 6.2 % No Diesel

(See diagram 2)

In Contrast on 30^th March RE Contribution was only -43,5%

and oil use has gone up to -29.59%

However, as outlined in the introductory paragraphs of the concept paper, the driving force to promote this change is the early declaration of appropriately worked out tariffs for installation of storage batteries and delivery of the stored energy to the grid.

With the total lack of progress of proposals in the LTEGP 2025-2044 by the state institutions, it is prudent to assume any future initiatives can only come from private sector participation.

Using the power granted by the recently ratified Electricity Act NO, 36 (As amended) the PUCSL has moved with commendable speed to develop the Feed in Tariff declarations needed to enable the achievement of the above objectives and a further stakeholder consultation was held on the 24^th of April when more detailed proposals were put forward.

However, although the responsibility of publishing the tariff remains with the PUCSL, unless the National System Operator ( NSO ), tasked with the planning and implementation of Electricity Sector developments , takes urgent action to implement the desired changes as a highest priority task, nothing will be gained to help the country to get out of this quagmire.

The Consumer Continues to be Burdened.

Further, as the time table proposed by the PUCSL itself indicates, even the first of the options can be implemented only in 2027, with the others following up to the year 2030.

These are very encouraging time targets and the consumers will eagerly await their achievement.

However, the threat of power cuts, as well as continuing increase in consumer tariff to fuel the use of diesel for power generation, is real and current. A further tariff increase of 18% has been demanded by the NSO, on top of the 15% granted on 1^st April, 2026.

The Immediate Options Available to Consumers.

a) The CEB now refuses to provide any grid connection for integration of any rooftop solar PV systems under the Surya Bala Sangraamaya.

b) The only way available to the consumers is to install Off grid roof top solar systems with adequate batteries to be none dependent on the grid. Use the grid only during the off peak hours.

c) During most periods of the year, even under cloudy conditions there is some solar generation. To ensure the daily consumption is more than covered by the solar input and any surplus is used to charge the battery, to the level adequate to manage the evening and peak hour demand, the capacity of the solar panels and battery have to be determined.

d) It is to be noted that although only the relatively high-end domestic consumers could find the proposed scheme financially feasible under the present cost regimes, which will improve further when the second tariff increase is announced shortly, to those consuming over 250 Units/Month, their engagement has a sector wise positive implication which is beneficial to all levels of consumers.

e) The scheme will operate in an off grid mode, without exports to the grid at any time. Therefore, they will not contribute to the often voiced worries of over voltage, instability and variability in the national grid.

f) Once the PUCSL announces the required FIT and the NSO or the Distribution Companies institutes the necessary facilities, such as smart meters, such consumers, too, can further assist the grid by export of any excess they generate.

Proposal to Avoid Power Cuts Implementable by Domestic Consumers

There are several drivers which will attract the potential ” Prosumers” to adopt this option without delay.

* The consumer tariff will continue to rise

* Even the former Roof Top Solar Systems, without batteries, does not provide power during the power cuts or blackouts

* At present day prices, the investment is financially feasible, based on the savings of the current level of monthly electricity bill. A substantial bank loan can be comfortably settled from the savings

* Now cooking with electricity is no longer a financial burden but can save one from the cost and danger of LPG shortages and queues

* What you, do based on your economic ability, will be a service to all consumers as the resultant reduction of Peak Demand means the use of Diesel can be gradually reduced and the lower end consumers, too, will benefit.

* You will enhance your green credentials with your own financial benefits.

The overall benefit to the grid and other consumers

If the element of exorbitant cost of diesel-based generation is removed then there is no need for the increase of consumer tariff for all consumers.

What is more important is that trimming the peak load would drastically reduce the need for any power shredding that is happening on the sly now and thereby benefit all consumers,

The summary of Financial Analysis illustrating the viability based on currently available data is given here. This will improve drastically if a further increase in consumer tariff is granted, which appears inevitable. (See Table 01 – The basic data used for this analysis is available on request.)

by Eng Parakrama Jayasinghe

parajayasinghe@gmail.com

Features

From Coal to Solar: China’s sunken mines power a Green Revolution: Lessons for Sri Lanka

Published

1 hour ago

2026/05/4

Thilina Walpola

A floating solar farm on a coal mining subsidence area in Panji district of Huainan, Anhui province, China, on June 7, 2017. (Image courtesy China Daily)

In a striking symbol of the global energy transition, vast stretches of once-abandoned coal mines in China have been reborn, not as relics of an industrial past, but as shimmering hubs of renewable energy.

What were once scarred landscapes, destabilised by years of mining, and later submerged by landslides and floods, have now been transformed into expansive artificial lakes.

Floating atop these waters are some of the world’s largest solar power installations, quietly generating clean electricity on a massive scale.

Among the most notable are the Fuyang Floating Solar Farm and the Huainan Floating Solar Farm. Together, they represent a remarkable engineering and environmental achievement.

The Fuyang facility boasts an installed capacity of 650 megawatts, producing approximately 700 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Even more impressive, the Huainan project reaches a staggering 1 gigawatt capacity, generating nearly 1.8 billion kilowatt-hours each year. Combined, these floating giants produce enough electricity to power millions of homes without burning a single lump of coal.

A former General Manager of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), a veteran electrical engineer, described the development as “a glimpse into the future of energy systems.”

“What China has demonstrated is not just technological capability, but strategic foresight. Turning environmentally degraded land into clean energy assets is the kind of thinking countries like Sri Lanka must begin to adopt,” he said.

Why solar on water?

Floating solar, or “floatovoltaics,” offers a range of advantages that traditional land-based solar farms cannot easily match.

Water naturally cools solar panels, improving their efficiency by an estimated 10 to 15 percent. In hot climates, this cooling effect can significantly boost electricity generation.

Additionally, the panels reduce water evaporation, a crucial benefit in regions facing water stress. By limiting sunlight penetration, they also help suppress algae growth, improving water quality.

Perhaps, most importantly, floating solar eliminates the need for large tracts of land. In densely populated or agriculture-dependent countries, this is a game changer.

A dual economy: Fish and power

In an innovative twist, some of these floating solar farms incorporate aquaculture beneath the panels. Known as the “fisheries + solar” model, it allows communities to cultivate fish in the shaded waters below, creating a dual-income system, energy production above, food production below.

This integrated approach not only maximises resource use but also supports local livelihoods, blending sustainability with economic resilience.

Environmental dividends

The environmental benefits are substantial. The Fuyang project alone reduces carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 580,000 tons annually, while the Huainan facility cuts emissions by around 1.6 million tons each year.

Beyond emissions, these projects reclaim landscapes once deemed unusable—areas heavily damaged by coal extraction. In doing so, they rewrite the narrative of industrial decline into one of ecological restoration and innovation.

Sri Lanka: A nation poised for floating solar For Sri Lanka, the implications are profound.

Unlike China’s abandoned coal pits, Sri Lanka possesses thousands of irrigation tanks, reservoirs, and hydropower catchments that could serve as ideal platforms for floating solar. From the ancient tank systems of the dry zone to major reservoirs like Victoria Dam and Randenigala Reservoir, the country holds untapped potential to generate clean electricity without sacrificing precious land.

The country’s reliance on thermal power, particularly during drought periods when hydropower declines—has long been a challenge. Floating solar could provide a stabilising solution, reducing dependence on costly fossil fuels while complementing existing hydroelectric infrastructure.

Energy analysts note that integrating floating solar with hydropower reservoirs can create a hybrid system: solar power during the day, hydropower balancing supply at night. This synergy enhances grid stability and reduces overall generation costs.

The former CEB official stressed the urgency:

“Sri Lanka cannot afford to delay. With rising energy demand and climate pressures, we must explore every viable renewable option. Floating solar on our reservoirs is one of the most practical and scalable solutions available.”

Challenges and the road ahead

However, experts caution that careful planning is essential. Environmental assessments, grid integration, and financing mechanisms must be properly addressed. Community engagement, especially where fisheries are involved—will also be key.

Yet the blueprint already exists.

China’s transformation of submerged coal mines into renewable energy hubs offers more than inspiration—it provides a working model. For Sri Lanka, adapting that model to its own geography could mark a decisive step toward energy independence.

China’s floating solar farms stand today as one of the clearest symbols of a world in transition—from fossil fuels to renewables, from environmental degradation to restoration.

For Sri Lanka, the message is equally clear: the future of energy may not lie on land alone—but on water, where sunlight meets innovation.

If harnessed wisely, Sri Lanka’s vast network of reservoirs could one day mirror that transformation, turning calm waters into engines of sustainable growth.

by Ifham Nizam