Economising power

The other day we dwelt in these columns about the directive issued by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to CEB officials to halt the slide of the CEB which is burdened with huge losses. We also spoke of the need for conservation to minimise these losses. Yesterday in our front page news item we quoted CEB Working Director Roshan Abeygunawardena as saying that between three to four percent of the country's power generation are lost to unregistered power consumption of street lights and also to power piracy.

This represents a sizeable quantum of power which the CEB can ill-afford to lose at a time when it needs all the available resources it could muster to tide over its losses. Street lamps are of course a free service to the public for which the CEB picks up the tab.

But what about the unnecessary illuminations that we see around us that take a heavy toll on the national grid. Today we consume power with impunity while the CEB is forced to subsidize electricity to the public fearing a public outcry if it even attempts to break even and thus save losses to itself.

Regrettably it is the Government institutions who are the main offenders when it comes to waste of electricity. One has only to step into a Government Department to get the true picture where air-conditioners function at full throttle in untenanted office space or fans whirring over unoccupied desks. In addition to this State Banks and many other Government buildings are draped in eye catching illuminations in the night. Perhaps they want to keep pace with their competitors in the private sector who have floodlit their buildings with garish neon lights.

While all this make an eye catching sight and beautifies the skyline it is no secret that a majority of these illuminations are powered by pirated electricity at great cost to the CEB. There are also lightings and illuminations that are totally unnecessary and redundant which only serves to add to the burden of the CEB. Some of chief culprits in this respect are places of religious worship which keep their premises illuminated from dusk to dawn when there are no devotees. Such negligence costs the CEB.

True, there was a time when the security situation demanded extra lightings particularly at vital installations. But today we see several State institutions draped in illuminations which they could well do without. Certain in private sector organizations too illuminate their buildings more than is warranted obviously for commercial reasons. They should be asked to keep illuminations to their minimum while prevailed upon taking other steps to conserve electricity.

Of course it could be argued that the more illuminations the more beautiful and colourful will our cities look. After all, all major capital cities in the world come alive only at night, lit by dazzling illuminations. Of course these rich countries can afford to use power with impunity having as they do diverse energy sources. We on the other hand use expensive fuel and hydropower to meet our electricity requirements. Therefore we should be circumspect in this regard.

Besides the brazen waste of electricity by most State institutions is unforgivable that calls for stringent action by the Government if the CEB is to get out of the red. One often reads about Government Departments defaulting on their electricity bills running into millions of rupees. They should be told to settle such outstanding bills or it would unfair to accuse the CEB alone for the down turn.

Serious attention should also be given to the fact that a sizable chunk of electricity is lost to power piracy. The CEB flying squads keeps periodically raiding small hotels, restaurants, eating houses etc. which have used the most ingenious methods to tap power illegally. But the suspects invariably get off with a small fine and the CEB Flying Squads who convey the news to the media are very satisfied that they gave collected a paltry one million as fines.

The colossal loss suffered by the CEB does not come into the equation nor the extent to which the racket has progressed. Because it is well-known that even certain star class hotels resort to power piracy to cover their massive overheads. Therefore stringent laws should be introduced to deal with power piracy so that the culprits may even receive jail terms. No lesser deterrent would help curb this swindle of the CEB.