Minister Alahapperuma inspects the system control at the Ante LECO factory, also in the picture Power and Energy Ministry Secretary Wasantha Perera

By Ifham Nizam

Sri Lanka should be able to dream and realise her dreams; and in so doing, she faced many social and economic challenges, Power and Energy Minister Dullas Alahapperuma yesterday said when he visited Ante LECO Suhuru Manu factory in Bandaragama.

Ante LECO Metering Company (Pvt) Ltd. is a subsidiary of LECO, where 70 per cent of the shares are owned by LECO and 30% by Ante Meter Company Ltd. of China. This is the only Energy Meter Manufacturing Company here and it will supply the total requirement of household electricity meters to the Ceylon Electricity Board and LECO -Lanka Electricity Company.

Since January 2018, Ante LECO has expanded its operations to produce smart meters for the local market here. Its smart meter has been tested and certified by KEMA Laboratory, in the Netherlands.

Minister Alhapperuma said LECO had a unique identity among the state institutions. “As the head of the Electricity family, I am very happy about that. As a vital sector, our biggest challenge is to ensure that the country’s power needs are met so that its development goals can be achieved. It has been almost three decades since the smart meter arrived in Sri Lanka. The world is moving fast.”

Alahapperuma said that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had opened the Ante LECO factory at a time when the country was fighting a war against terrorism. “Today, we should express our gratitude to him for that. As a government, we seek to create a Sri Lanka free from fossil fuel by tapping renewable energy.

The Minister also stressed that the technical challenge of storing energy generated from renewable sources would be handed over to LECO. “This institution was established in 2008 on a concept of then President Mahinda Rajapaksa as a solution to the electricity meter crisis here. The company first started producing electro mechanical meters in 2008. Then in 2014 the company took it to the next level and started manufacturing electronic gauges. In 2017 the company was transformed into a smart meter factory.

“This enabled CEB to produce the required meters and more than 40% of the total meter production process commenced. The company aims to complete the entire gauge manufacturing process in the country this year and export our products to foreign countries, becoming a competitive international gauge manufacturer.”

Wasantha Perera, Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy, Athula de Silva, Attorney-at-Law, Chairman of LECO, Dr. Narendra de Silva, General Manager, Ceylon Electricity Board and Nalinda Illangakoon, Deputy Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board were also present on the occasion.