Two CEB engineers suspended for illegal power outages last month: Minister

Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera

Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera yesterday confirmed that two Ceylon Electricity Board engineers responsible for illegal power cuts last month had been suspended from work.

“Two CEB engineers at system control have been suspended for arbitrarily imposing power cuts and for operating diesel power plants to generate electricity instead of hydropower plants, causing a massive economic loss,” he told the Parliament.

He said the move was based on the preliminary investigations conducted by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka into the CEB’s power outages beyond the approved schedule last month. Minister Wijesekara said further investigations will be carried out into the 9 June illegal power outage incident.

On 8 June, the Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union announced that a countrywide blackout was likely as they were protesting against the Government’s decision to table the Sri Lanka Electricity Amendment Bill in Parliament on 9 June.

The PUCSL conducted a preliminary investigation and the report revealed this week that the CEB had dispatched fuel-generated Sojitz and Westcoast power plants out of schedule on 9 June and incurred an additional estimated cost of Rs. 320 million. Minister Wijesekara also warned that given the suspension of the engineers, the trade unions may resort to further protests based on the development.

“We cannot as a Government permit such malicious actions and allow those responsible to go unpunished,” he added.