CEB incurs annual loss of Rs 3,000 mn due to street lighting

By Ifham Nizam

Nearly 2000MW or 200GWh were consumed by about 900,000 to 1,000,000 street lights, countrywide annually, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) engineers said yesterday, adding that the CEB incurred a loss of more than Rs. 3,000 million due to street lighting.

Overall electricity waste in Sri Lanka was about 8%, engineers said.

They welcomed Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s instructions to all heads of Local Government bodies to turn off all street lights from yesterday until March 31.

The SLPP has announced that it will send a letter to Basil Rajapaksa informing him of possible alternatives to save electricity with minimal impact on daily life.

Responding to queries, Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority Director General Sulakshana Jayawardena told The Island that there was no proper estimation as such but due to inefficiency and wrong timing in lighting of streets, there was a huge waste of electricity.

The CEB said that mismanagement and waste were due to the fact that traditional methods still used by the local authorities to manage the switching on and off of the street lamps.