CEB case on power cuts fixed for 16 April

Wednesday, 10 April 2019 01:56 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Lawyer representing CEB unavailable, Court agrees to fresh date

By Manopriya Gunasekera

Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court yesterday postponed the case filed by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) to 16 April, after the lawyer representing the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) requested a fresh date, as he was unable to be present in Court.

Nine accused are cited in the case filed by the PUCSL, with the CEB being listed as the first accused. The other accused are CEB directors. The PUCSL decided to file a case against the CEB after it commenced power cuts last month, contending that the power monopoly failed to get permission from the PUCSL and notify it ahead of the load shedding.

Last week, the Fort Magistrate issued notice to the CEB to be present in court on 9 April. However, last Thursday, the CEB filed a motion requesting a new date, claiming its lawyer was unavailable on 9 April. When the case was taken up on Tuesday, the judge agreed to fix the case for 16 April, which will be the first working day after the New Year.

On 29 March, the PUCSL filed the case on the basis that the CEB had failed to submit daily power generation reports to the regulator, as required by law. The regulator states that the licensee had not given its reports since 27 May last year.

The PUCSL argues that it was unable to exercise the powers vested in it by the Legislature, and take effective decisions to regulate the power sector, because of the CEB’s failure to submit the reports. This has created serious issues for many parties, and has also contributed to the present power crisis and the inconveniences faced by consumers, the PUCSL further claims, pointing out that the omission amounted to an offence under the PUCSL Act No 35 of 2002.

However, the CEB has argued that it was not the institution’s fault, as the Government had failed to implement new power projects to meet demand as required, and the CEB had no choice but to proceed with load shedding, as it was unable to meet demand.