Most street lights not switched off: Minister
BY SANDUN A. JAYASEKERA
Aug 1, 2012
Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka yesterday instructed Local Government officials to switch off at least 50 per cent of the street lights lamps from today because the haphazard use of street lamps had cost millions of rupees to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB). At a meeting chaired by the minister it was revealed that tariffs had not been paid on some 400,000 street lamps being used by several local government bodies.

One street lamp costs the CEB Rs.150 a night and the annual cost is between Rs.1,200 to Rs.1,400 million. “It is not uncommon to see several street lights even in the Colombo Municipal Council areas lit up even in bright sunlight. It appears that no one is bothered about switching off a street lamp in the morning. I am sad to say that many of the local government bodies do not manage the use of street lamps and they have failed to put an official in charge of this important function,” the minister said.

Minister Ranawaka instructed local government officials to carry out regular checks with the results conveyed to local government bodies in September. The audit check expects to review the outcome of the new measures and explicitly know who pays for the street lamps to the CEB or LECO.

The minister said the CEB was talking to the Asian Development Bank to find out how the efficiency and management of street lamps could be improved.

Source: Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka