Friday Feb 20, 2026
Friday Feb 20, 2026
Wednesday, 11 February 2026 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) unions have threatened blackouts and widespread power disruptions in response to the Government’s plan to restructure the power utility.
The CEB Technical Engineers and Superintendents Association said it will launch an island-wide strike once the gazette establishing six new subsidiary companies is issued, which is expected later this month. The association cautioned that such action could bring operations at key power installations and transmission networks to a standstill.
The timing of the gazette would trigger immediate action unless the Government addressed the union’s demands. If the Government proceeds without meeting the union’s eight demands, it said it was prepared to take action that could leave the country in darkness.
The warning is backed by 24 other electricity trade unions, including engineers, technical officers and industrial technicians. They have said that during any strike action, routine maintenance and emergency repairs would not be carried out, potentially forcing authorities to shut down sections of the national grid on safety grounds.
The proposed restructuring, which has Cabinet approval pending, envisages splitting the CEB into six separate companies, with assets, liabilities and operations redistributed among them. Government officials have argued that the move is aimed at improving efficiency and financial discipline in the power sector, while unions say it threatens job security, employee benefits and operational accountability.
The unions’ eight-point demand list includes formal guarantees on employee benefits through a collective agreement prior to gazette notification, safeguards against the erosion of salaries and allowances, proper auditing and transfer of assets, protections for pension and provident funds, resolution of long-standing salary anomalies, settlement of benefits for employees who opted for voluntary retirement, and the establishment of mechanisms to address grievances arising from restructuring.
With the gazette expected shortly, unions warned that failure to reach agreement could push the power sector into severe disruption, raising the prospect of an energy crisis at a time when electricity supply remains critical to economic activity.
