News
Power cuts: CEB’s claim false, PUCSL
By Saman Indrajith
It was now clear that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) had been in a position ensure an uninterrupted supply of electricity, Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), Janaka Rathnayaka said yesterday.
On 07 January, the CEB had asked the PUCSL to authorise power cuts, Rathnayaka said. However, the PUCSL had studied the data and refused to authorise power cuts, he said.
“We looked at the data and found that there was no need for load shedding. For almost five weeks, the CEB had managed without power cuts. Clearly, they can manage this for the next three months until the rainy season begins,” the PUCSL Chairman said.
Rathnayake pointed out that the country’s daily requirement of electricity was about 2,700 megawatts and the private sector had generators that could produce 3,000 MW. The PUCSL had instructed the CEB to coordinate with private sector institutions with generators and to link them to the national grid, Rathnayake said.
“We had asked the CEB to make necessary payments. CEB has a database of institutions that have generators. They can look into whether these generators are used. Already about 10 institutions including some leading hotels have started using their own generators. We have been able to save about a 100 megawatts through this scheme,” the PUCSL chief said.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe embarked on an official visit to Germany early this morning (27). During his absence, the responsibilities of the ministries under his purview have been temporarily entrusted to the respective state ministers.
As part of this arrangement, State Minister Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon will serve as the Acting Minister of Defence, State Minister Shehan Semasinghe as the Acting Minister of Finance, State Minister Kanaka Herath as the Acting Minister of Technology, State Minister Anupa Pasqual as the Acting Minister for Women, Children Affairs and Social Empowerment and State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya as the Acting Minister for Investment Promotion.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe left for Germany to deliver the opening remarks at the Leaders Dialogue session during the ‘Berlin Global Dialogue’ on September 28-29. Subsequently, he will join a bilateral session with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the officials of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Minister of State for Tourism Mrs. Diana Gamage at a press conference themed ‘Collective path to a stable country’ at the Presidential Media Centre today (27) announced plans to launch promotional campaigns aimed at attracting 1.5 million foreign tourists to Sri Lanka by the year’s end. She emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring the safety of tourists and mentioned initiatives such as establishing taxi associations to enhance the visitor experience.
The Railway Department has announced that train services on the coastal line will be delayed due a derailment between Kollupitiya and Colombo Fort this morning (27).
It also said that trains bound to Colombo will be given priority and requested South bound passengers to make use of alternate modes of transportation until the situation is rectified.
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