By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW):A new Electricity Reforms Bill or an amendment to the Electricity Reforms Act No. 28 of 2002 will be drafted and presented in Parliament soon to regularize the restructuring process, a senior official of the Ministry of Energy said.

The final draft of the new Electricity Act has been handed over to the legal draftsman’s office for clearance and is due to be submitted to the Cabinet for approval, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijsekera said.

Accordingly, the draft will be presented before the Cabinet of Ministers upon receiving the certification from the Attorney General.

Meanwhile, the power sector reform secretariat, which is due to be established, will develop and implement the transition plan together with financial and technical assistance from the relevant development agencies.

A discussion in this regard was held at the Ministry’s premises on Thursday (06 July), at which Country Directors, Mission Heads, senior officials & energy experts from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), USAID, World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) were present, Minister Wijesekera said in a Twitter statement.

A committee appointed on the recommendation of the Minister of Power and Energy, has prepared a proposal and a bill to abolish the Ceylon Electricity Board Act and transfer its resources to 14 companies established under the Companies Ordinance No. 7 of 2007.

Sri Lankan authorities have been struggling for 24 years since 1998 to restructure the debt-laden Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and many efforts over the years to push through much-needed reforms have failed due to stiff opposition from workers and other quarters.

The Energy Ministry has been directed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to expedite the restructuring process of unbundling the CEB by setting up state-owned companies jointly with the private sector management to take over the generation, transmission, distribution and other functions.

There will be one joint venture each for generation and transmission and three or more for distribution, according to the CEB board paper devised recently for the approval of the board of directors before submitting it to the ministry to prepare the cabinet memorandum.

It has also been proposed to form separate power generation joint venture companies to undertake functions of the CEB relating to hydro electricity, thermal electricity, coal power and non renewable power generation, power generation, distribution, and other activities as well as Lanka Electricity Company.

These companies will serve as independent power producers (IPP) and will have to sell the energy they generate to the transmission company, along with other IPPs, the CEB board paper indicated.

One of the main proposals of this draft is to abolish the Ceylon Electricity Board Act and transfer all the resources of CEB to 14 companies in the first phase. By that, all Mahaweli power plants are to be transferred to one company.

“All the power plants of the Lakshapana complex are to be transferred to another company. The Hydro plants including Samanala wewa, Uma oya and Kukule gaga will be transferred to another company. Norochcholai power plant is also to be transferred to another company. In this way, all the power plants belonging to CEB have been targeted to be transferred to 6 companies.

The new Act replaces the Commission with an institution called the Electricity Regulatory Commission under the Minister of Power and Energy. The members of the Commission as well as its Director General are appointed by the Minister of Power and Energy. Because of this, all the inappropriate proposals proposed by the Minister of power and energy.

By: Isuru Parakrama

Colombo (LNW): Eight persons have been arrested in connection with the assault on a Buddhist monk and two women, an event which came to attention upon a viral video on Social Media.

One suspect was arrested last night (07), and seven more this morning (08), as they surrendered to the Nawagamuwa Police, according to Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa.

These suspects are due to be produced before the Court, and further investigations are underway to identify those who had initially uploaded the video in question on Social Media, Thalduwa added.

Previous report:

Colombo (LNW): More than one thousand (1,100) employees of the State Engineering Corporation have volunteered to retire, however an amount of Rs. 2.6 billion is required to compensate them, revealed Corporation Chriaman Rathnasiri Kalupahana.

In the backdrop, there is a problematic situation with regard to acquiring the necessary funds for compensating employees who wish to retire voluntarily.

In the inability of paying the employees their full salary for the month of June, a tense situation arose at the SEC yesterday (07), and the Corporation Chief noted that it was not possible to settle the full salary to the SEC employees.

However, the full salary will be paid next Monday (10), he added.

By: Isuru Parakrama

Colombo (LNW): Public Security Minister Tiran Alles has reportedly issued a directive to the Police, ordering them to arrest those responsible for assaulting a Buddhist monk and two women, following the surfacing of a video allegedly featuring the event hit headlines on Social Media.

The incident, which had reportedly happened yesterday (07) in Nawagamuwa area, went viral on Social Media, and the Minister has instructed the Police to take immediate action to apprehend those responsible.

Colombo (LNW): The Department of Examination said applications for the GCE Advanced Level Examinations will be accepted online from July 07 to 28.

The candidates can submit their applications via the Dept’s official web portals: www.doenets.lk / www.onlineexams.gov.lk/eic , or the mobile app ‘DoE’.

Students of government schools and government-approved private schools are urged to send in their applications through the respective school principals, whilst private candidates are urged to put them forward themselves, the Dept added.

The candidates are also requested to keep a printed copy of the application with themselves, in case of an emergency.

1. President Ranil Wickremesinghe says he believes that the Tourism Industry would significantly contribute to the country’s forex earnings in the coming decade; asserts comprehensive plans had already been formulated to enhance Sri Lanka’s appeal as a tourist destination; stresses promoting tourism could lead to an increase in per capita income.
   
2. President’s Chief of Staff Sagala Ratnayake says measures will be taken to swiftly address challenges in Health Sector; instructs the officials to thoroughly probe the accuracy of media reports concerning the crisis; asserts if any allegations are found to be true, immediate intervention and relief measures will be taken to assist the affected individuals.
   
3. Livestock Development State Minister D.B. Herath says the government has implemented a specific programme to promote liquid milk production in the country: asserts people are interested in the production and consumption of liquid milk; adds supporting the liquid milk business makes it feasible to boost the dairy farmer’s economics and satisfy the country’s need for protein.
   
4. India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra is to arrive in Colombo early next week to work out arrangements for Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to New Delhi on July 20 this year.
   
5. The Colombo Fort Magistrate lifts the travel ban imposed on SDIG in charge of the Western Province Deshabandu Tennakoon in connection with the assault on peaceful protesters at the ‘Aragalaya’ agitation site in Galleface in May last year.
   
6. The Exam Dept says applications for the 2023 GCE AL Exams will be accepted online from July 07 – 28: Candidates can submit applications via the dept’s official online portals (www.doenets.lk and www.onlineexams.gov.lk/eic) or the mobile app ‘DoE’.
   
7. Secretary of the ‘Ceylon Teachers Union’ and JVP member Mahinda Jayasinghe divulges there is a group of government officials who are engaged in fraud and corruption in the National Institute of Education and are being backed by close political ties of the government; laments the Secretary to the Education Ministry has been informed about the scenario, but no positive outcome has ever come.
   
8. CB data reveal workers’ remittances in June ’23 recorded US $475.7 million: The cumulative figure for the 1H23 stands at US $ 2,822.6 million, which is an increase of 75.3% from the corresponding period of the previous year.
   
9. The Government Radiology Technologists’ Association reveals the linear accelerator machine which provides radiotherapy to young children at the Maharagama Apeksha Hospital has been out of order for two weeks; adds this is mainly because the annual service contract for the said machines was not entered by, as they are unable to pay; warns the lives of 10 – 15 children who had been receiving radiotherapy for cancer are in danger.
   
10. Openers Pathum Nissanka (104) and Dimuth Karunaratne (83) put on a remarkable 190 run stand while mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana had 4 for 34 as SL records an easy 08 wicket win over West Indies in their last super six Cricket fixture of the World Cup Qualifier tournament played at Harare: With this one sided game SL being the only unbeaten team of the tournament will be brimming with confidence when they meet Netherlands in the final tomorrow.