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Should anyone flout the energy saving campaign, Seneviratne threatens to slap a million rupee charge on television stations after dark, so that they may just shut down on their own.
A huge blow for Sri Lankans, tuning in to watch World Cup football, Desperate Housewives, late night soaps or even political chat shows.
If they must stay awake, locals have been asked to switch on an energy saving bulb and resist the urge to turn down the air conditioner below 26 degrees Celsius.
 A sign of things to come? Sri Lanka plans to fine television stations Rs. 1 million for showing programmes after 10.00 pm. Authorities are also asking people to switch off the telly and hit the sack early as the government looks for ways to curb energy usage. |
But for those who dim the lights, the government has promised reward schemes and discounts for the substantial savings on their light bills.
"We are making a request that people use minimum electricity for their requirements, not use unnecessary appliances and turn off superficial, unwanted illumination," Seneviratne asked households and businesses.
What the debt ridden state utility, the Ceylon Electricity Board wants to see, is heavy night time demand on the national electricity grid easing, saving on expensive diesel generation.
The Board is hoping for up to 20 percent cut back on each person's electricity usage, the same goes for hotels, industries and other businesses that could generate their own electricity.
The CEB is also trying to weed out unauthorised street lights, lit up on stolen electricity by tapping into the power grid, and switching on street lights at later times.
"Local government bodies are responsible for switching on street lamps, which they switch on at 4.30 pm in the evening and switch off at 7.30 am the next morning," B R O Fernando, Vice Chairman of the CEB said.
"What we are asking is that they switch it on at 7.30 pm and turn it off at 5.00 am the next morning."
Good Intentions
But do the well intentioned energy saving plans, trotted out at every energy crisis, really work?
Some analysts say maybe not. "Though there is potential, the savings are very marginal," Dr. Tilak Siyambalapitiya, an Independent Energy Specialist told LBO.
With Sri Lanka putting back the clock by half an hour and forward in the mornings, people stay up longer and wake up earlier to go to work or school, so already more artificial light is used, Siyambalapitiya says.
"In the household sector, people are already paying their bills with great difficulty, so I don't really see people wasting electricity."
About 79 percent of households use under 90 units of electricity a month, considered average households some having both refrigerators and televisions.
The higher brackets, would be the ones to target with energy saving measures, but are 21 percent of households, of which just over three percent use over 180 units, paying a premium of 17 rupees a unit.
"Industries, such as in the manufacturing sector also offers clear economic potential for savings, of up to 10 percent sometimes through use of better equipment or controls."
Ironically, Siyambalapitiya says, the greatest savings could probably be made from within the CEB itself, trimming system losses and theft – about two percent of sales.
Whatever savings have been made in other crisis years, however, have been hard to measure, with price hikes usually coupled with mandatory, legal controls.
In 1996, probably one of Sri Lanka’s worst crisis years in recent history, the government prohibited use of air conditioners and the lighting up of billboards.
So that we have some time to study, talk with family etc.
At present all the people are masmorised to TV from atleast 7 pm onward.
If any body want to see TV even after 10 pm, let us have a system of paying for such services by the viewer.
Our people are sensitive only for two things. Money and death.
Also there will be several 100s of thousands of connections bypassing the meter.
If CEB cracks down on thse errant activities and punishes the bribe seeking officials and minor workers of CEB I am sure CEB will be profitable again.
We honest Sri Lankans subsidze the corrupt, and the harworking subsidise the lazy.
With more sleep.
Irritability will get reduced at home and at office+more productivity in office and peace at home
But it takes guts for a government to do that...because then everyone will want to see the price of production--and that is where all the skeletons are hidden.
CEB needs an overhaul-big time.
Everyone knows it-but the government has not got the guts to take it on and do it. There is absolutely NO valid excuse.
Power can be and is a very profitable business worldwide, and it should be so in SL--and people should be able to pay for it and use it all night if they want to!!
All politician are responsible for the current status of the electricity board and its operations.
Can the Minister publish a clear report giving the details of cost of generating a unit of power.
Providing all direct costs, indirect costs, distribution costs and administration costs.
One can easily compare those costs with any other neibouring contry.
I am very much sure there are so much excess staff and unwanted operations with in the CEB caused more damages than poor consumers.
Also, it was revealed that there were so many curruption taking place.
So, I am requesing Minister come out with the real information rather than telling consumers to turn off their lights.
At least now pls identify the real problem and find solution.
He is nuts
So we are now introduing low cost computers.... so that the mass can reach for it.
Silly me, of course not, computers dont run on electricity.
Our government doent realise that they are contridicting there own policies of bringing the country standards high.
Very soon i'm sure they are goona stop having internet after hours or impose a tax / fine on that too.
Pray so that our future generations will not be 'tank frogs".
We can blissfully see what has happend in the north for the last 2 decades - the 20 year olds were made to become tank frogs by their so called freedom fighters, they have only seen war and carnage.
We need to watch TV, we need be use power to educate our selves, use internet, look around the world to learn whats new.
We need awareness to be ready for the world or our kids too will end up similar to the ones in the north very soon with limited fore-vision.
All what some in the fools paradise can think of is to take away the simple things enjoyed by the masses of this country.
Those masses are the workers who need to relax after a hard days work - maybe in front of a TV. Is that a crime...??
Simply because 'they'dont have the ability to suffice the basic needs of 'tax paying'human beings, look who suffers...! Its yet again the tax paying, vote casting silly we....!!!!
We need to move forward not backwards. Time and time again we've questioned ourselves as to why the countries neighboring us have done well and not us. We do understand that there are many reasons, however, this slow decsion making is diastrous.
Several people in many authorative positions had warned the government about the appending power crisis only to be ignored. And then suddenly now we have the government saying sleep early.
Its nothing short of a joke.
In a county so unstable, peace talks declined and terrorist attacks pending and expected almost anytime you expect the public not have access to media.
This is foolishness, this government seems to want to take us backwards.
Media, television, radio and print media is a civil right that the government should try and make arrangements to uphold. A tax, a fine..... all so that information can be shared... it is a basic right.
When will this foolishness end, we need a better set of people to steer our economy forward. We have a right to expect our leaders to make our living standards better day by day.
This is the first time we have got a goverment that'l drive us backwards.
This is a very shortsighted and lopsided policy.
TV, advertising & marketing, hotel and tourism and so many other inter-related economic activities will face the brunt.
It's simply penny wise and pound foolish.
How about stopping sate funded vehicle usage of politicians and their near & dear ones?
Savings to the nation will be enormous - for sure.
How often do they calibrate energy meters installed at service points?
what we are seeing are the signs of an economy trying to clutch onto the most desperate measures to stop drying the state coffers.
but this is a negative approach altogether, which is not only ineffectual, but worse, can dampen marketing, media and consumer behaviour as well.
These are the types of persons who are governing Sri Lanka. You can now see why we cann't even solve a small problem.
We can not really blame them as we are the ones who elected them to solve the nations problems.! If that's the case we deserve this government.
The country is run by lies and more lies, as long there is people to believe it and keep voting for these lies. You will have the highest electricity rates in the world and lot of that cost is paid for inefficient management and political blunders ., When will Sri Lanka decide to elect Professional like Ranil to save the country.
Not only should their be astrologers at Board level, we need them at National level. At least a couple of cabinet ministers need to fully qualified witch doctors.
The name ofthe country can also be changed to Serendib, to help the tourist industry and change perceptions (Sri Lanka is associated with awr and terrorism) and the capital can be shifted to Hambantota.
These are the cruicial steps that lead to development of nations.
People like Siyambalapitiya and Samarajiva, who you frequently quote, never get these things right. I cannot understand why they complain about excess energy consumtion due to time adjustment.
There may be an economic cost in re-adjusting time to IST.
But apart from the obvious benefits we gain by synchronizing our clocks with Delhi, Kilinochchi and Mulativu we would have appeased heavenly forces angered by deviating from IST.
This is much more important for the nation’s prosperity than saving few million rupees every minute.
Sri Lankan companies have long been misled by economists, business analysts and other so called planning professional in their long term planning process.
They must, at least now, learn a lesson from national leaders.
In a country where astrologers have the final say in matters concerning the statecraft, Sri Lankan companies must have astrologers employed at board level.
So the key corporate decisions could be aligned to the key decision making process of the state.
The “Executive Astrologer or Kattandiya” could advice business leaders when to make key decisions and take critical business actions, based on alignments of heavenly bodies.
And during difficult times like what we are facing presently (economy facing uncertainties, interest rates moving up and currency heading south) they could use the services of “Kattandiaya” to chase evil spirits that would be much more fruitful than having a brainstorm among senior managers.
A Malayali exorcist would be more effective than a local practitioner.
As LBO editor, you may perhaps seriously consider providing frequent updates on movements of celestial objects and their impact on Sri Lankan business.
That would, in my opinion, would be of greater benefit to your readers than your ever pessimistic Fuss Budget Column and comments by so called energy experts and economists.
There was an automatic and truly substantial saving on electricity and now it is the citizens who have to once again pay the price for the stupidity of it's elected leaders!
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