Close tab on street lights

by Ananda KANNANGARA

Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka has called upon District Secretaries and officials of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to keep a tab on street lights in their areas and check unnecessary waste between 6.00am and 6.00pm.

The Minister told the Sunday Observer that complaints are being received by his Ministry from certain Local Government bodies over the misuse of street lights as they are not switched off at the correct time. It is reported that certain lamplighters in some village local bodies, and in Colombo fail to switch off street lights even during the day.

A spokesman for the CEB said that local bodies are in debt to the tune of over Rs. 2 billion for street lamps. The misuse of this facility would aggravate the situation further.

The Minister said that some local authorities had taken steps to switch off additional street lights and replace them with low wattage LED and LCD bulbs.

When this situation was brought to the notice of Local Government and Provincial Council Minister A.L. M. Athaulla, he said that he would keep a close eye on this issue and take stern action against those responsible.

According to statistics, Sri Lanka consumes 2000 MW electricity during the peak hours between 6.30 and 9.30 pm and if consumers switch off refrigerators and other electrical appliances during this two-hour period, the Government could save Rs. 8 billion.

The Minister called upon hospitals, police stations and security service stations to use power sparingly during peak hours and help in the Government's `Energy Saving Program'.