Power disruptions may occur - CEB

By Rukshana Rizwie

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has announced that power supply was disrupted in Wellampitiya and surrounding areas, as the engineers feared that people were at risk of electrocution.

“Electricity supply to Wellampitiya, Kolonnawa, Angoda, Orugodawatta, Sedawatta and Singhapura have been disrupted,” Sulakshana Jayawardena, spokesperson for the CEB said. “The Area engineers were afraid that people might untangle cables that have fallen or touch them, which is dangerous.”

“The area engineers have been requested by the CEB to keep a close eye on the situation and to independently take a decision, while keeping the public informed.” “It all depends on the ground situation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Senior Engineer and Director of Major Dams at the Mahaweli Authority, S.R.K Aruppola told the Sunday Observer that the water level in the main reservoirs are at 60% of their catchment capacity.

“We are told by the Met Department that the rains would not continue into the following week.” He said the Rantambe, Kala Wewa and Udawalawe were spilling over from time to time.

“We have alerted residents living in the low-lying areas close to reservoirs and informed the relevant Divisional Secretariats,” Aruppola said.

Wasantha Ehelapitiya, engineer- in-charge at Randenigala and Rantambe told the Sunday Observer water levels at the Rantambe reservoir can be easily maintained since the power generation offsets any increase in water levels. “The water level at Randenigala has only gone up by 1 meter, at 229.3 and needs to be 232 to reach spill level,” he said. “So far we are not anticipating a big increase but the situation is being closely monitored.”