PUCSL tells CEB not to request approval for power cuts until Feb. 17

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has informed the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) that requests for power interruptions would not be green-lighted until February 17, 2023.

In a letter director to CEB’s additional general manager, PUCSL chairman Janaka Ratnayake said the decision was taken with the intention of safeguarding the human rights of the 331,709 candidates sitting for the 2022 G.C.E. Advanced Level examination.

The letter comes in response to the CEB general manager’s request for approval from the commission for power interruption schedule today (Jan. 27).

In its letter, Ratnayake went on to noted that the PUCSL granted the approval for all requests made by the transmission licensee for scheduled power interruptions made from February 18, 2022 to January 25, 2023 under the Condition 30(10) of Electricity Transmission and Bulk Supply License No. EL/T/09-002.

The electricity sector regulator, directing the CEB to provide an uninterrupted power supply until the end of the exam, has urged the state-owned utility to refrain from submission of requests of approval for scheduled power interruptions until February 17.

The PUCSL further noted that the CEB would be legally held responsible for violation of Condition 30(10) of Electricity Transmission and Bulk Supply License No. EL/T/09-002, if power supply is interrupted during the exam month.