Power outage PUCSL mulling legal action against CEB

• Says warned CEB of power crisis beforehand 

By Sandun A. Jayasekera

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) is mulling legal action against the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) for its failure to obtain prior approval from the power regulator to implement a schedule for power outage, a senior official of the PUCSL said yesterday.

Communication Director of the power regulator Jayanath Herath told Daily mirror  that it was mandatory for the CEB to submit the schedule in advance and obtain prior permission for a power cut under Clause 30 of the Transmission Licence.  “The CEB must also inform consumers about an impending power outage. Up to now, the CEB has not sent such a schedule for approval. The PUCSL wrote to CEB on March 19 requesting it to send a report on power cuts, but we haven’t received it yet. The CEB is bound under the Transmission Licence issued by PUCSL to get prior approval for power cuts and also to inform consumers in advance,” he said. 

He said PUCSL in 2015 informed the CEB and the Power and Energy Ministry that a power crisis would be unavoidable by 2019/20 unless remedial measures were taken. “Under these circumstances we have no option but to take legal action against CEB if it continues to violate the conditions of the Transmission Licence issued by PUCSL,” he said.    

Says CEB bound by Transmission Licence to get prior approval for power cuts