• Respond to claims that power cuts will result if Samanalawewa water is used for cultivation, cite non-use of transmission cable system  
• CEB Chair denies move 

The Electricity Consumers Association (ECA) attributed the statements made by certain parties to the effect that an hours long power cut will have to be carried out in the Southern Province if water is released from the Samanalawewa Reservoir in Balangoda for cultivation purposes, for an attempt to prepare the necessary background for emergency power purchases.

During a recent discussion with Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, the officials of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) had pointed out that the water capacity of the Samanalawewa Reservoir is 87.9 million cubic metres (CBM) at present, and that it may go down to 60 million CBM if water is to be released to the Udawalawe Dam for cultivation purposes. In such a case, the CEB officials had warned that the electricity supply to the Southern Province would have to be disconnected for a period of one to three hours.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (1 August), ECA General Secretary Sanjeewa Dhammika claimed that the CEB had planned for emergency power purchases from the beginning of this year (2023). "The CEB does not pay any attention to the construction of low cost power plants. Pretending that there is a power shortage in the Southern Province is always the first step in making emergency purchases."

Claiming that statements made by certain parties that the water of the Samanalawewa Reservoir is essential to supply electricity to the Southern Province are misleading, he said that a transmission cable system that has been extended to Ambalanthota to supply electricity from the main power plants in other areas to the Southern Province at a huge cost has been left unused. "If this cable system is used, power plants in other areas can supply electricity to the South, but, if it is used, they (the CEB) will not be able to pretend that there is an electricity shortage and make emergency purchases," alleged Dhammika.

Speaking further, he said that every Minister of Power and Energy and CEB Chairman and General Manager have made emergency power purchases, and that the same has resulted in a loss of around Rs. 10 billion. "If emergency power purchases are made under the guise of an electricity shortage in the Southern Province, the CEB will again raise electricity tariffs. Therefore, we urge every relevant party to withdraw this plan. If not, we as electricity consumers will get into more actions."

When contacted by The Daily Morning, CEB Chairman Nalinda Illangakoon said that there is no preparation to make emergency power purchases.

Dhammika also said that the relevant authorities are not taking steps to release water to paddy cultivations while the Irrigation Department has previously assured a continuous water supply to farmers in the area until 20 August. "The farmers need water only for two more weeks. If their cultivation is destroyed, more than 35,000 families will become helpless. We doubt if the authorities are deliberately allowing a food shortage to arise so that they can earn commissions through various ways such as making emergency power purchases and importing rice."

Amaraweera recently said that there is a risk of paddy cultivation in several areas being destroyed due to the drought, and that the same may result in a serious food shortage in the country. In particular, he said that more than 50,000 acres of paddy fields that have been cultivated with the water supply from the Udawalawe Dam are at risk of being destroyed due to the drought. While the possible destruction of paddy cultivations may cause a loss of about Rs. 16.81 billion, he claimed that the overall loss would be around Rs. 30 billion as several other cultivations including bananas, are also at risk of being destroyed.

He engaged in a special discussion with the officials of several institutions such as the Irrigation Department and the Mahaweli Authority regarding the possibility of releasing water from the Samanalawewa Reservoir in Balangoda to the Udawalawe Dam, following a protest staged by farmers in the respective areas. There, the CEB officials had said that the electricity supply to the Southern Province would have to be disconnected for a period of one to three hours if water is released to the Udawalawe Dam.