News
PUCSL approves emergency power purchases

Adequate supply of fuel to power plants could immediately resolve the rolling power outages in the country caused by shortages of 200–400 MW, says Janaka Ratnayake, Chairman of Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, the electricity sector regulator.
“Lack of funds to buy the required fuel to fire power plants is the main reason for continued power interruptions in large parts of Sri Lanka. We also have run down hydro reservoirs as hydro power was used excessively in the months of December last year and January this year to provide electricity,
“The CEB has been forced to shut down 350 MW of Thermal power plants for the past two weeks due to lack of fuel supply. We have generated 76 percent electricity from thermal power plants 19 percent from hydro and five percent electricity from renewable for this month so far. Hydro generation has increased to 22 percent during the month of February this year due to unavailability of fuel for thermal generation plants which stood at 18 percent in the same month last year,
“Apart for the lack of fuel supply, we also have a technical constraint in the Southern grid where we have advised the Ceylon Electricity Board to find immediate solutions way back in 2017 which has not been materialised yet,”
The currency crunch that the country is facing at the moment has delayed the import of fuel, which has led to power cuts countrywide, says Ratnayake.
“We currently are in the forex crisis where we do not have sufficient funds to buy fuel. We can end this power cut if we get sufficient fuel stocks to operate our power plants,”
Ratnayake says the PUCSL is also aware of the financial issue that the Ceylon Electricity Board is going through.
“We are aware. We have asked electricity consumers to pay their bills on time to reduce the financial burden of the CEB to a certain extent. But the issue is bigger. The electricity generation cost has increased 120 percent from the last tariff hike. The generation cost per electricity unit at the moment is 37 rupees. But we are providing an electricity unit at 16 -17 rupees on average, which does not reflect the actual generation cost. Also, the price of a crude oil barrel in the world market has increased to 113 dollars this year. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka also had taken a decision to float the rupee given the current economic conditions which have caused a higher market volatility at present. All these reasons have a much larger impact on the generation cost of electricity. We believe in a cost reflective tariff to strengthen the CEB and the economy of the country while not burdening the electricity consumers,” Ratnayake said.
Commenting on the Southern grid issue, the Chairman of PUCSL said that CEB had been instructed to find long-term solutions for the issue where 100-150 MW of capacity is being lacking at present.
Considering the existing fuel shortage of the country and electrical energy capacity shortage of the CEB, coupled up with the long term forced outage of all thermal power plants at Kelanitissa, Sapugaskanda and Kerawalapitiya due to no fuel with severe depletion of water resources in reservoirs that led to experience more than seven hours daily power cut to the electricity consumers, the cabinet has declared an “emergency situation’ in the energy sector as required under section 43(4) (c ) (ii) of the Sri Lanka Electricity Act in keeping with the directive of the President made on 02nd March 2022.
With that, CEB has requested the approval of 93 MW of capacity under short-term power purchase agreement from ACE Power (Embilipitiya) power plant for months in order to reduce the long hours of power interruptions immediately.
“We approved the request given the priority of the fuel supply to CEB power plants.
“At the same time, we are having a steady long-term plan to ensure continuous supply of electricity to Sri Lanka. We have approved 600 MW of LNG power plant already.”
News
FSP asks govt. to pull out of defence deal with India

The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) yesterday demanded an immediate termination of what it called a “secretive and dangerous” defence agreement signed between Sri Lanka and India, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 05 April visit.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Nugegoda, FSP Education Secretary Pubudu Jagoda described the agreement as a “betrayal of the nation” and a “crime against the people,” urging the government to invoke Article 12 of the deal and exit it with the required three months’ notice.
Jagoda said the document, which surfaced on social media after being published by a news portal, appears to be the actual agreement signed between the two countries. “The government has not denied its authenticity. That silence is telling,” he said.
Jagoda added that the agreement bears the signatures of Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry Secretary Sampath Thuiyakontha and Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha.
“What’s most troubling,” Jagoda warned, “is that both governments attempted to keep the agreement under wraps. Unlike the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord, which was made public with all annexures, this agreement was hidden from the people, and even now, we don’t know how many other agreements exist between India and Sri Lanka.”
Jagoda said that a Right to Information request made on 04 April was met with a reply from the President’s Office stating that it had no copies of the agreement—raising serious concerns about transparency, even at the highest level. “One could question whether the President has seen it because his office does not have it,” Jagoda said.
The 12-clause of agreement reportedly covers areas such as exchange and training of military personnel, defence industry collaboration, classified information protection, and military medical services, including battlefield healthcare and telemedicine.
Jagoda said the definition of “classified information” in Clause 7 was alarmingly broad. “It allows India to label virtually anything as secret. Even weapons or military assets transferred under this agreement cannot be revealed—not even after the agreement ends,” he said, citing Clause 7.3.
Clause 10 prohibits either country from taking disputes to international courts or involving third-party mediators. “It’s like asking a rabbit to negotiate with a tiger,” Jagoda quipped, drawing parallels to the complications of the 1987 accord, which eventually saw Indian peacekeeping troops refusing to leave until a change in the Indian government.
Jagoda accused the NPP-led government of hypocrisy, pointing out that the JVP, the main component of the current regime, had vehemently opposed Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987. “Now they’ve gone and signed an even more dangerous deal,” he said.
Citing Clause 12, which allows either party to withdraw with three months’ notice, the FSP called on the government to act immediately to exit the pact. “We urge the people to unite and defeat these underhanded, sovereignty-eroding deals. The FSP stands ready to lead that fight,” Jagoda said.
News
Police crush protest, arrest student activists

The police yesterday arrested a group of students, including the Convener of the Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF), Madushan Chandradith, during a protest held by the Allied Health Science Graduates’ Union in front of the Health Ministry yesterday.
The police obtained an order from Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court, earlier in the day, to prevent protesters from invading the Colombo Hospital Square and the Health Ministry.
News
Deshabandu faces misconduct probe on Monday

Inspector General of Police T.M.W. Deshabandu Tennakoon is set to face formal questioning on Monday (19 May) over serious allegations of misconduct and abuse of power, parliamentary sources said yesterday.
A special Committee appointed to investigate the claims will commence formal proceedings next week, following several rounds of preliminary discussions held within the parliamentary complex in recent weeks.
The IGP has been officially notified to appear before the Committee and is expected to face the inquiry for the first time at 2:00 PM in Committee Room No. 8.
The Committee, which met again on Thursday (15) to finalise arrangements, is investigating allegations that Tennakoon misused his official powers in a manner deemed severe and improper.
-
Features7 days ago
SAITM Graduates Overcome Adversity, Excel Despite Challenges
-
Opinion7 days ago
Drs. Navaratnam’s consultation fee three rupees NOT Rs. 300
-
News7 days ago
Destined to be pope:Brother says Leo XIV always wanted to be a priest
-
Sports7 days ago
ASBC Asian U22 and Youth Boxing Championships from Monday
-
Features6 days ago
Championing Geckos, Conservation, and Cross-Disciplinary Research in Sri Lanka
-
Business7 days ago
Dilmah – HSBC future writers festival attracts 150+ entries
-
Midweek Review4 days ago
Bronze statue for P’karan, NPP defeat in the North and 16th anniversary of triumph over terrorism
-
News2 days ago
Chikungunya spreading rapidly in Colombo and suburbs