Schoolchildren pledge support for energy conservation drive
by Ananda KANNANGARA
Over 4.5 million schoolchildren in the country last week pledged
their individual contribution towards the Government's proposed
`Electricity Conservation Program' to use less electricity, especially
during the peak period between 6.30 pm and 9.30 pm.
This is the first time schoolchildren were educated by the Government
on the importance of energy saving.
A large number of schoolchildren who gathered at the Ananda College
auditorium, Colombo took their oaths before Power and Energy Minister
Patali Champika Ranawaka and assured that they would personally help the
Government's endeavour of saving electricity.
Minister Ranawaka requested schoolchildren from various parts of the
country to make it a habit to switch off all unnecessary lights in their
homes and gardens.
He said children should set examples even to elders on conserving
electricity, especially during peak hours, since many elders do not
listen to the Ceylon Electricity Board's (CEB) repeated requests on
energy saving.
The Minister also asked the children to be vigilant over the high
cost of generating electricity and requested them to minimise the use of
high voltage home appliances during the peak hours.
He said according to the CEB, 2,000 MW of electricity is currently
consumed in Sri Lanka during peak hours.
Minister Ranawaka said if consumers followed CEB instructions, the
country could save eight billion rupees of the national income.
The Minister requested the children to use power sparingly even in
their school premises to save electricity for tomorrow.
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