Jan 27, Colombo The power supplier, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) says it is a challenge for the CEB to find money to provide continuous electricity during the GCE advanced Level examination period.

CEB Chairman Nalinda Ilangakoon told media that although the Human Rights Commission has asked to provide continuous electricity supply until the completion of the GCE A/L examination, the Ceylon Electricity Board is facing a severe financial crisis in securing the extra funds needed for that.

The chairman said that although the officials of Ceylon Electricity Board had expressed an agreement to provide electricity to the Human Rights Commission, the Human Rights Commission had not yet informed him in writing.

He said that in order to provide continuous electricity supply for the educational activities of the students who are taking the advanced level examination, the Ceylon Electricity Board will have to spend an amount of 4.1 billion rupees from the date the examination started to the end date. He said that the daily power interruptions will have to continue unless this additional cost is covered.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has warned that it would seek legal action if the relevant authorities fail to provide an uninterrupted power supply during the 2022 G.C.E. Advanced Level exam from January 23 to February 17.

The authorities of the relevant institutions have agreed to provide continuous electricity supply from Wednesday (Jan 25) until the end of the GCE A/L examination at a discussion held at the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission.

Accordingly, the Human Rights Commission and the Public Utilities Commission have made a proposal to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation to supply the necessary fuel for the continuous supply of electricity.

The Public Utility Commission has given instructions to the Ceylon Electricity Board that the necessary conditions to recover the cost should be given priority to the payment in the proposed electricity price revision.

Accordingly, all parties have agreed to pay the relevant amount within 60 days.

The Human Rights Commission issuing a statement has stated that if the responsible institutions do not act as agreed to continue providing electricity during the period of the GCE A/L examination, they will report the matter to the Supreme Court for the offense of ‘disrespecting the Commission’s authority’.

According to the provisions of Article 21 of the HRCSL Act No. 21 of 1996, every offence of contempt committed against or in disrespect of, the authority of the commission is punishable by the Supreme Court.

However, despite the agreements reached at the meeting called by the Human Rights Commission, it was reported that the daily power cuts continued as usual.