CEB work-to-rule: No repairs after 4:00pm beginning today

By Ifham Nizam

The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union (CEBEU) yesterday warned that they would move to the second stage of their work-to-rule campaign and no repairs would be carried out after 4.00 p.m.

The CEBEU said it had written to the CEB General Manager, informing him of their trade union action,.

The CEB Engineers’ Union launched its work-to-rule campaign over six demands, including the cancellation of the backdoor deal with US firm New Fortress.

The newly launched Senior Engineers Association Spokesman Eng. Nandika Pathirage told The Island that investigations into blackouts or ground-out experienced in most parts of the country on Monday night were continuing.

CEB Chairman M. M.C. Ferdinando has instructed the CEB General Manager to hold an investigation into Monday’s power outage.

Power supply was restored around 9:00 p.m. and in some parts before 10 p.m.

Power outage occurred due to an defect in the transmission line from the Kotmale Grid substation to the Biyagama Grid substation, around 7:35 PM on Monday.

Generation of power from Mahaweli, Hydro power stations was interrupted and as a result there were failures in several Grid Substations, and areas, including Sapugaskanda, Athurugiriya, Pannipitiya, Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, Kurunegala, Habarana, Matara, and Galle, said Power Ministry Spokesman Sulakshana Jayawardena.