Cabinet heats up over power crisis

• President demands resignation of PUCSL head
• Ravi to mediate between CEB and PUCSL and brief Pres. and PM on issues with PUCSL
• PUCSL asked to withdraw case, but refused
• CEB summoned before Fort Magistrate on 9 April

By Chathuri Dissanayake

For the second consecutive week the Power Ministry was in the centre of the discussion at the Cabinet meeting yesterday with President Maithripala Sirisena demanding removal of officials in the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka.

The exchange between President Sirisena, and Power, Energy and Business Development Minister Ravi Karunanayake, centred on the conduct of the PUCSL and the current crisis, with Minister Champika Ranawaka trying to bring in a different view regarding the issue, Daily FT learned.

The Cabinet has been informed by Karunanayake that the PUCSL has initiated legal action on the CEB for failure to inform and get approval prior to initiating power cuts due to current power shortage. Sirisena however found fault with one Government institution taking legal action on another and questioned the move, leading to his demand of removal of the officials in the regulatory body, top Cabinet sources confirmed.

The President finding fault with the PUCSL for causing the delay in implementing the Long Term Generation Plan has demanded that the official he blamed to be the cause of the delay to be removed from the post. Attempts by Minister Ranawaka to interject in the argument to make Sirisena see a different version to the situation was not successful, Daily FT learned.

The ministers then decided that Power Minister should meet both the CEB and PUCSL today to mediate a truce between the two entities. The Minister is to meet both President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today to brief them on the situation with the PUCSL as well.

According to sources, Minister Karunanayake has also requested the PUCSL to withdraw the case filed by them against the CEB for carrying out unannounced power cuts during the last three weeks. However, the PUCSL has gone ahead with the case, and the CEB has been summoned before Fort Magistrate Court on the 9 April.