Power cuts, tariff hikes, A/Levels and carnivals

“At this festive time of year, Mr. Scrooge, it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessities; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.”

– “A Christmas Carol”. Charles Dickens. 1843

By Gomi Senadhira
(Senadhiragomi@gmail.com)

The weekend before last (Feb.11), I went to meet a friend who was on a short visit to Sri Lanka and staying at the Shangri-La. The Uber driver who took me there preferred to approach the hotel through Baladaksha Mawatha because the approach from Galle Road was difficult. The area was full of cars and it was difficult to find a parking space anywhere closer to the hotel. Even to enter One Galle Face car park there was a long queue. The reason? A carnival on the Galle Face Green.

“I thought you guys have a serious power crisis and power cuts? I was surprised to see so much illumination?” my friend said as he greeted me. After a brief chat on the subject including the government’s refusal to provide uninterrupted power supply, even during these crucial A/Level exams, my friend commented sarcastically, “You people really know how to get your priorities right. No wonder your country is in such a big mess.”

“The Christmas spirit” – the Cardinal’s and the President’s

I do not know what the government’s priorities are. But it appears the carnivals certainly are some of those and exams are not. Otherwise, what are the reasons for the CEB’s refusal to provide uninterrupted electricity during the A/Level exams? A few days earlier, it provided an uninterrupted power supply from 24 to 26 December, and on 31 December and 01 January for the government to turn the Aragalaya site on Galle Face into a festive site. Then the President with his Tourism Minister opened the special Christmas Carol concert, and a carnival organised by the Tourism Development Board, the armed forces, and the police. That was done, as the President’s Media Division described, “… giving people an opportunity to enjoy the Christmas spirit…regardless of caste, creed or religion!”

Interestingly, this was done only a few days after Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith had urged his followers not to waste money on festivities, this year (2022) as “… most people have only one meal a day… and the situation in this country is very dangerous.” The Cardinal’s request was for a low-key Christmas without elaborate festivities and to use the savings to feed the hungry. It appears that the Cardinal and the President had a different interpretation of the term “Christmas spirit,” particularly at a time the country is facing its worst economic crisis since its independence and most people have only one meal a day.

Your Tax (Free) Yuan at Work

With an uninterrupted power supply from the CEB, the festivities and the waste of electricity continued during the last two weeks of last year. The rich celebrated the dawn of the New Year, at five-star hotels, paying thousands of rupees (some venues charged rupees 30,000 or more per person.) A dazzling display of fireworks by the Port City lit up the night sky over Galle Face Green, marking the end of 2022. Perhaps, the Port City was also celebrating the 40-year tax holiday they got from the government, a few months earlier while enforcing heavy taxes on the rest of Sri Lanka.

Since then, life has remained “normal” for most Kolombians. They continue to party through the energy crisis. The Colombo Street Food Market continued, every last weekend of the month even amidst the power crisis. During the last weekend of January, Hospital Street was lit up like a Christmas tree for the well-to-do to mingle. Then, in February, hotels marketed fairy-tale packages on Valentine’s Day. Then came the icing on the cake, the ‘Janaraja Perahera,’ in Kandy under the patronage of the President. Only very few similar “Peraheras” were organised earlier. When the Duke of Wales, the son of Queen Victoria, visited Sri Lanka, in 1875, a “Raja Perahera” was organised. After that, “Raja Peraheras” were organised for Queen Elizabeth II during her visits in 1954 and 1981. A similar procession was also held in 1979, for the first Executive President J. R. Jayewardene, who watched the procession as the Queen did from a special platform built in the Maha Maluwa! As the country was experiencing an energy crisis (even) at that time it was organized as a morning event. Even JRJ ensured it was just pomp and pageantry without much waste of electricity.

Unlimited supply of Electricity for Carnivals but not for A/Level Exam

It is difficult to comprehend how any reasonable individual, or a government deliberately waste scarce resources like electricity for partying and then refuse to provide an uninterrupted power supply to students during a crucial exam! Never mind the waste of money at a time when the country is facing its worst economic crisis since independence; over six million people face food insecurity, thousands of children suffer from severe malnutrition and some of the essential medicines and equipment are not available at hospitals.

Is this time for the government to promote the waste of electricity through carnivals, night markets, and Raja Peraheras? Every additional kilowatt of power required for these extravaganzas is generated (or purchased by the CEB) at an astronomically high cost, which is transferred immediately directly or indirectly to the consumer. Isn’t it time for the government to set an example and reduce energy consumption and stop waste? Isn’t it time for the government to look for innovative solutions to saving this limited resource?

Take for example daylight saving time adopted in 1996, when Sri Lanka faced a similar power shortage. Then we shifted Sri Lanka’s official time from GMT+5:30 to GMT+06:30 to save electricity. A similar arrangement was enforced during World War II. Such an arrangement should be combined with other energy-saving measures like limiting other “nonessential” night time activities like carnivals. Or, consider other measures, even token or symbolic measures to reduce power consumption. In 2020, during a power crisis in Brazil, Heineken (the beer maker) ran a primetime TV ad that displayed just a black screen with a voiceover for 30 seconds followed by 15 seconds in which the Heineken logo was displayed. Apparently, that ad saved enough energy to power a small city in Brazil for a few hours. If that is so, think how much energy we can save if we cut down TV screening times by a few hours.

Unfortunately, we cannot expect that kind of compassion from our rulers. After being urged for a low-key Christmas season, the President and his Tourism Minister decided to celebrate it in style with carnivals, parties and fireworks. After hurting the poor, and middle-class people, with his callous energy policies, the Minister of Power and Energy went on to announce shamelessly but gleefully that while the general public had to pay high rates, residents of luxury apartment complexes like Trillium were charged less than 50 percent of the rate paid by other electricity consumers. In other words, according to the Minister, rich residents in Trillium are charged less than 50 percent of what is paid by the residents in the adjoining Elvitigala Flats! Then what about those super luxury apartments like Galle Face One, and super luxury hotels like Shangri-La? Do they also get these concessionary rates? Finally, what about Sri Lanka’s tallest symbol of wasteful expenditure, the Lotus Tower, which continues to shine brightly every night? How much does the CEB charge for a unit of electricity from it? And who pays the bill for that?