Inclement weather causes massive power outages countrywide 

• CEB receives over 61,000 electricity breakdown complaints, impacting over 467,500 users during past six days

 The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has reported over 61,000 electricity breakdown complaints, affecting over 467,500 electricity users across the country over the past six days, from 21 to 26 May due to severe weather conditions.

As of 2 p.m. yesterday, CEB teams had cleared over 26,700 breakdowns and restored power to around 425,500 users. Despite these efforts, the ongoing inclement weather continues to generate new complaints, causing fluctuations in the numbers of affected users.

On 23 May, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera announced that additional service staff had been deployed to expedite repairs. The CEB management and service staff have been working around the clock to address the situation, which saw over 36,900 breakdowns and power interruptions affecting more than 300,000 users from 20 to 22 May.

Minister Wijesekera urged electricity users experiencing power outages to report them via the CEB hotline 1987. If the hotline is unavailable, users can send an SMS to 1987 with “BD” followed by their electricity consumer number. Alternatively, users can report issues through the CEB Care app or via the website cebcare.ceb.lk.

The CEB reiterated its commitment to restoring power to all affected users as quickly as possible. The number of complaints and affected users remains in flux due to the continuous receipt of new breakdown reports.

As the CEB continues its efforts to address the widespread outages, the public is advised to use the available reporting channels to ensure that all issues are logged and attended to promptly.