Twenty five percent of the country do not have power due to the strike by the Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union (CEBEU) which started at midnight yesterday.
CEBEU Secretary Eranga Kudahewa said that the reduction will be applicable to all parts of the country. It will be in addition to the ongoing daily power cuts.
‘Seventy five percent have a power supply. Some power plants have been stopped but we do not want to interrupt the power supply fully because it will compound the issues the people are facing at the moment’.
Kudahewa said that their talks with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa about their demands have been positive.
‘The President said the matter will be taken up by a committee but we don’t have more details of this’.
He said they will continue their strike until their demands are met.
The CEBEU strike is over the government’s move to amend the Sri Lanka Electricity Act No. 20 of 2009 to abolish the competitive bidding process for the procurement of electricity from the private sector.
The CEBEU is accusing the government of trying to rush through the amendment in parliament today without having proper and adequate consultations with relevant stakeholders.
In addition to withdrawing the proposed amendment the CEBEU’s other demands are that the government must not hand over the country’s wind & solar resources to the Adani Group without following the competitive bidding process and to stop driving the CEB to privatization in the guise of reform.
It also wants a suitable professional with an unblemished character to be appointed as the Chairman of the CEB.
Hiru News reported that the Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka Janaka Ratnayake said all coal powered plants are generating power at full capacity and are connected to the national grid. Some hydro powered plants like Lakshapana, Canyon, Wimalasurendra, Polpitiya, Victoria, Randenigala and Rantambe have been isolated and are non- operational without instructions by the systems control unit of the CEB due to the union action.
