News

Huge amounts of water allowed to run off from reservoirs without generating electricity

Published

4 years ago

2021/11/16

By Ifham Nizam

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) had lost nearly eight billion rupees savings due to the lackadaisical attitude of the Dispatch Department, energy experts said yesterday.

The Rantembe, Victoria, Kotmale and Randenigala reservoirs are overflowing. Nearly 350 GWh were lost from Victoria Randenigala and Rantembe as per estimates in November 2021, independent energy expert, Energy Analyst Dr. Vidhura Ralapanawe pointed out. He the figure was much higher when other reservoir overflows were also added, and the CEB dispatch teams had a lot to answer for.

A senior official of the CEB said that they were faced with a number of technical issues in most plants, especially due to the inclement weather. However, he ruled out sabotage for low voltages experienced in some parts of the country.

With downpours, the reservoirs are now spilling over. This could be considered as a loss of revenue to the CEB as water had a value and was lost when spilled without generating power, a retired senior engineer said.

He said that if the CEB was not prepared to go for some sort of demand management which is the cheapest option to meet the ever expanding loads, very costly generation through high cost thermal generation had to be undertaken increasing the losses the utility annually suffered.

“A change in the attitude of the CEB organisation is urgently required to minimise costs to reduce the annual losses. Revision of the tariffs is essential and the CEB must promote lower cost wind and solar power generation, the retired veteran pointed out.

The official stressed the need to implement the government policy of 70% renewables by 2030 urgently. “Costly generation from imported fuel must be reduced as much as possible. To have more variable wind and solar generation, they must plan for storage in the system. This could be both grid storage and behind the meter storage.” The senior official also urged the government to encourage the use of home storage by removing import duty on batteries and encourage local manufacture of the batteries and even solar modules. These must be undertaken urgently so that all costly imported fuel generation could be minimised early, he added.

“The CEB also has a problem with the release of water which is decided weekly by the Mahaweli authority and the Irrigation Department according to their requirements.

“These requirements must also be met by the CEB as most of the Mahaweli Dams have priority for water release for irrigation than for power generation. Providing a highly reliable supply costs extra money. Can we afford this now? Sri Lanka is already short of dollars, and we cannot expect to provide a 100% reliable supply.

“We must be able to identify non-essential loads and must be able to interrupt the supply. The proper tariff will also help in saving energy. It must encourage reducing waste.”

The veteran also insisted that the plan to install rooftop solar free on the dwellings of Samurdhi recipients should be undertaken immediately. A large sum of money given for solar projects by the Indian government had so far not been used. Putting rooftop solar on all government buildings and schools should be done immediately, he said.

The CEB could be faced with the problem of lack of substation capacity and higher voltage in the Long LT lines, but there are many technical solutions to these problems. Active involvement of the universities to find low costs solutions must be pursued and in a well-planned manner, these must be implemented urgently, he stressed.

Much research done in the universities is not put into practice by the utility due to poor attitudes. What is required is effective management at the CEB. It was unfortunate the promotion by seniority only resulted in getting General Managers of the CEB who remain in office for a short period. “So, the tendency is just to manage the business of the utility till one retires without taking on a challenging task which could result in losing the job,” the senior engineer added.

He said he believed that promotion by performance was a difficult exercise, which may be influenced by politics. “A properly balanced system needs to be developed to have good performers to be promoted quickly and at the same time must provide the staff in different positions proper training so that they can perform well in doing their task. It will take time and must constantly work towards this effectively, which will need effective management at the CEB with no political intervention.”

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Maldivian President plants a sapling to mark 60 years of Sri Lanka–Maldives Diplomatic Relations

Published

4 hours ago

2026/05/4

Priyan

President of the Maldives, Dr Mohamed Muizzu, who is on a State Visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, planted a sapling this afternoon (04) at Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo to commemorate 60 years of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Upon arrival at the Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu was warmly received by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Children lined both sides of the pathway holding the national flags of the two countries and paid tribute to the visiting Maldivian President.

Among those present at the occasion were Deputy Speaker Rizvi Salih, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath and the Mayor of Colombo, Vraie Cally Balthazaar, along with several other dignitaries.

[President’s Media Division (PMD)]

News

Sri Lanka and Maldives strengthen ties with productive bilateral talks

Published

4 hours ago

2026/05/4

Priyan

Following the bilateral meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives, who is currently on a State visit to Sri Lanka, official-level bilateral discussions between the delegations of the two countries were held this morning (04) at the Presidential Secretariat.

The discussions commenced after the formal welcome ceremony accorded to President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu earlier this morning within the Presidential Secretariat premises.

Extending a warm welcome to the Maldivian President, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressed his appreciation for accepting the invitation to visit Sri Lanka.

President Dissanayake noted that President Muizzu’s visit, taking place as the two nations mark 61 years of diplomatic relations, reflects the strong partnership, mutual trust and longstanding friendship between Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The President further expressed confidence that the visit would mark a new phase in bilateral relations.

The two leaders engaged in extensive discussions on ways to further expand and diversify multifaceted cooperation, including economic, cultural and social ties, in a manner that delivers mutual benefits to the people of both countries.

Key areas of focus included tourism promotion, educational cooperation, youth and sports development, challenges faced by both nations in the fisheries sector within the Indian Ocean region, education and vocational training, as well as defence training and broader security cooperation.

Representing the Government of Sri Lanka were Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Anil Jayantha Fernando, Minister of Science and Technology, Krishantha Abeysena; Deputy Speaker Rizvie Salih, Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retired), Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (covering Europe, North America, East Asia and Oceania, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Legal Affairs) M. R. K. Lenagala, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the Maldives, Mohamed Rizvi Hassan and Director (South Asia and SAARC) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Mahesha Jayawardena.

The Maldivian delegation included Minister of Foreign Affairs Iruthisham Adam, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed, Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources, Ahmed Shiyam, Minister of Homeland Security and Technology, Ali Ihusaan, Chief of Staff to the President, Abdulla Fayaz, Principal Secretary to the President on Foreign Relations, Mohamed Naseer; Chief Government Spokesperson, Mohamed Hussain Shareef, High Commissioner of the Maldives to Sri Lanka,Masood Imad; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Chief of Protocol , Mohamed Shahudy, Deputy Minister at the President’s Office, Mr Mohamed Hassaan and Minister Counsellor at the Maldives High Commission in Sri Lanka, Mr. Ismail Mamdhooh.

[President’s Media Division (PMD)]

News

Maldives and Sri Lanka exchange seven MOUs

Published

4 hours ago

2026/05/4

Priyan

Seven Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), signed across several sectors between the Maldives and Sri Lanka, were formally exchanged this morning (04) at the Presidential Secretariat in the presence of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives.

Marking a new chapter in Maldives–Sri Lanka relations, the MoUs cover cooperation in the fields of health, sports, tourism, education and defence.

Accordingly:

1. MoU on Tourism Cooperation between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives was exchanged by Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Iruthisham Adam and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath.

2. MoU on Archiving Cooperation between the Department of National Archives of Sri Lanka and the National Archives of the Maldives was exchanged by Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Iruthisham Adam and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath.

3. MoU on Training and Professional Development of Teachers and School Leaders between the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Skills Development of the Maldives and the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education of Sri Lanka was exchanged by Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Iruthisham Adam and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath.

4. MoU on Sports and Youth Development Cooperation between the Republic of Maldives and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka was exchanged by Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Iruthisham Adam and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Sunil Kumara Gamage.

5. MoU on Defence Cooperation between the National Counter Terrorism Centre of the Maldives and the Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka was exchanged by the Maldives High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Masood Imad, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retired).

6. MoU between the Ministry of Defence and National Service of the Maldives and General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University of Sri Lanka was exchanged by the Maldives High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Masood Imad and the Vice Chancellor of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Rear Admiral Dammika Kumara.

7. MoU on Academic Cooperation between the University of Colombo of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Health, Family and Welfare of the Maldives was exchanged by Maldives High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Masood Imad and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo, Professor Indika Mahesh Karunathilake.

The state visit of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu, undertaken at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, aims to further strengthen economic, cultural and social ties between the two countries, while enhancing their multifaceted partnership.

Cabinet Ministers, government officials and members of the Maldivian delegation, representing both Sri Lanka and the Maldives, were present at the occasion.

[President’s Media Division]