Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka yesterday appealed to politicians not to use power supply projects for their political expediency as the electrification programmes are carried out within a targeted plan.

Addressing a group of trade Union leaders at his ministry, Minister Ranawaka pointed out that certain politicians wanted to delay or speed up electrification projects according to their whims and fancies, aiming to procure political brownie points, which is not possible for the power and energy ministry to accede to. “President Mahinda Rajapaksa wants to supply power to the entire country by end of 2012. The Power and Energy Ministry has been successful in implementing power supply projects in all districts in keeping with the target and in some instances before the target. This has been done on a planned programme and they cannot be changed, expedited or delayed to the whims of politicians.” Minister Ranawaka stressed.

Electricity is not considered a luxury anymore but an essential component in development. Consumers must have an attitudinal change to save power keeping in mind that energy sources are dwindling rapidly, he added. The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has launched nearly 24,000 rural electricity projects at a cost of Rs. 27 billion to achieve the target of 100% electrification before 2013.

Source: Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka