The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) said today that it has decided to carry out a country-wide research program on the impact of communication towers on lightning after receiving a large number of complaints from the public.

TRC Deputy Director of Networks, Dharmasiri De Alwis said that the commission receives about 10 complaints a month from residents who claim that lightning had caused damage to their homes.

He said that with the expansion of mobile telecommunication networks, the number of communication towers in the country have increased. He said that some residents fear that there may be health risks and that the towers could increase lightning occurrences. 

“The towers are constructed to world class standards but it is difficult to determine the level of impact of lightning on the towers and we cannot ignore the complaints from the public which is why we are conducting the research,” De Alwis said.

He said a person or object at ground level usually attracts lightning in the absence of a higher object and that therefore damage caused is usually minimal. He said however that on some occasions the effects of lightning could induce a secondary effect where very strong lightning strikes send out current to power lines through which there could be damage to homes.  (Olindhi Jayasundere)