Damaged power cable repair starts tomorrow

By Malik Gunatilleke

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) said that repair work on the damaged power cable in Maradana, which will take at least two months to complete, will commence tomorrow with engineers brought from Australia starting repairs.

The main 132Kv power cable, which supplies power to key areas in Colombo, was found partly damaged last month after which the CEB announced it did not have the necessary facilities to do the repair work.

Project Manager Dr. Susantha Perera told The Sunday Times the repair would cost the CEB Rs.12 million, while the contract had been handed over to an Australian company named Olex Cables Australia.

He said the repair cost would be borne solely by the CEB as it was still unclear as to whether Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) or the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) was to blame for the damage.

The CEB media spokesman said the CEB would get the cost of repairs reimbursed from the culprits after they were identified.
“The CEB has learnt that the private contractor working for SLT was not working in that area at the time, so we are not sure whether the CMC was responsible for the damage,” he said.

However, Maradana Police OIC W.T.S. Nissanka said investigations revealed a private contractor working for SLT had accidentally drilled through the power cable while carrying out some work in the area.

He said the contractor had obtained all the necessary permission for the drilling of the road, while the CEB was put in touch with the SLT on the matter.