Better energy Management for a brighter tomorrow.

With the aim of educating the general public on the efficient use of power, the ministry of power and energy together with its affiliated companies, had launched the energy saving initiative ‘Today for Tomorrow’. The minister of power and energy Patali Champika Ranawaka stated that every consumer aspires to pay a lesser rate for electricity consumption. However the minister observed that most families do not pay enough attention to efficient use of power when purchasing their electrical appliances. He pointed out that the sole responsibility of educating the public on this issue lies with the Sustainable Energy Authority, the Ceylon Electricity Board, and Lanka Electric Company. The minister made these comments during an awareness campaign for the executive engineers on 30 April.

The minister said that this campaign which is launched on a regional, urban and private as well as government level requires the fullest cooperation of the executive engineers.

He said that while all power stations are functioning at maximum efficiency levels, the consumers too need to contribute to this national endeavour through the efficient use of their domestic appliances. Ministry further emphasized that it was not necessary to purchase 100 MW. of electricity from private sector for the months of February to May as proposed earlier.

Ministry of Power and Energy states Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) was able to save Rs.13,000 million as a result of Consumer Awareness Programme on thrifty usage of electricity. The programme has been named as National Programme to protect electricity.

The minister added that in 1994 total power requirement was obtained through Hydro power generation. However today it has dwindled to around 14% of the total requirement, depending on thermal power of around 86% of the total requirement. Therefore the rise in cost is unavoidable. The minister said that we are one of the only countries in the region that provides electricity to its people round the clock. “Therefore we must practice more efficie3nt ways of power consumption. Everyone can contribute to this national cause by switching off just one single light between 06.30 and 09.30 PM. During this time period, try as much to minimize the use of electrical appliances and contribute to a brighter tomorrow,” he added.