CEB Engineers snub PUCSL

Given that Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is the sole providor of electricity in Sri Lanka, there is no need for a Public Utilities Commission (PUC), head of the CEB Engineers Union (CEBEU) Saumya Kumarawadu told the media.

Kumarawadu said the Act that established the PUC was a carbon copy of a law in a developed nation. This is not suitable for the conditions in Sri Lanka, he said.

“In other countries, there are many private companies involved in the electricity sector. They have generation, transmission and distribution companies, etc. Therefore, they need a state affiliated regulator to monitor and regulate the sector,” he said.

“Operations of the CEB have nothing to do with the PUC. How we run the system and maintain it is not under the PUC’s purview. They should regulate and see whether we are following the laws and address the various complaints by the people,” he said.

Kumarawadu said there were about 900 engineers at the CEB and they were the experts. The engineers attached to the PUC have very little practical experience, he said.

Commenting on the allegation that the CEB had failed to provide a sustainable and stable power supply, Kumarawadu said that a number of their generation plans had been stopped by various governments.

“The problem is that policies change with governments. A number of power stations proposed by the generation plans have not been built. In 2017, a tender was called to build a power station in Kerawalapitiya. It has taken four years and we have just signed an agreement,” he said.

Since the construction of the Norochcholei Power plant, a significant volume of renewable energy has been added to the grid and the cost of a unit of electricity produced by Mannar wind farm is only Rs.8, he said.

“The average price of a unit of electricity is Rs. 16. However, between Rs. 20 to 23 is spent on generating a unit of electricity, on average. We don’t increase the tariff and most people get a concessionary rate,” he said.