The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUSSL) has threatened to take legal action against Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) during the next couple of days if they fail to provide an uninterrupted power supply during the G.C.E Advanced Level examinations

The Chairman of the Commission, Janaka Ratnatnayake said  that the PUCSL rejected CEB’s request for power cuts imposed within the day during the exam.

 He said that PUCSL had issued an order to CEB to provide uninterrupted power from January 26, 2023, to February 17, if the CEB fails to provide uninterrupted power within the said time they would be violating conditions of the Ceylon Electricity Board Act.

He added that the PUCSL has sought the legal opinion of the Attorney General regarding the proposed electricity tariff revision. He added that directives of the Attorney General would be expected by next week.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) on Friday (27) filed a defamation case at Supreme Court against the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the Ministry of Power and Energy accusing they have failed to supply uninterrupted power supply during the 2022 G.C.E. Advanced Level (A/L) examination.

In spite of the agreement reached by all parties at the aforementioned inquiry – to refrain from imposing power cuts during the period in which the exam will be held – the HRCSL stated that it had filed a Supreme Court case on the grounds of neglect as the scheduled power cuts of two hours and twenty minutes continued.

 Accordingly, all relevant documents and certificates were also submitted to the Supreme Court on Friday (27) by the HRCSL.

The Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy M.P.D.U.K. Mapa, Chairman of the CEB M.S. Illangakoon and the Attorney General have been named as respondents in the complaint.

The HRCSL called an urgent meeting with the top representatives of the CEB, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), the Ministry of Power and Energy, and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) on Wednesday evening (25). During this meeting, a decision was made not to implement power outages.

According to Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera, the Ministry has already sought legal counsel regarding possible legal action against HRCSL's acts surrounding the power outages that occurred during the G.C.E. A/L exam period.

He said that in order to compel the HRCSL members to accept contracts ensuring an uninterrupted power supply during the examination period, the CEB officials had received official legal guidance.

According to Minister Wijesekera the HRCSL members were able to secure two documents by threatening to jail Ministry representatives who met with the Commission.

The minister claimed that the Secretary to the Ministry had told him that two HRCSL members had put pressure on the officials who participated in the conversation to sign two documents they did not want to.

Minister Wijesekera added that he had told the President about the occurrence and will write to the Constitutional Council to let them know about it.