By Niranjala Ariyawansha
The Engineers Union of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEBEU) has called an emergency Special General Meeting (SGM) today (11), ahead of contemplating tough trade union action over pressure being exerted by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) on the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM). The PUCSL is forcing the CCEM to implement the Least Cost Long Term Generation Expansion Plan (LCLTGEP), which had been allegedly drawn up against the Electricity Act. A CEBEU source told Ceylon Today that they have convened the SGM due to the failure of the talks they had with the subject Minister, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Ministry Secretary Dr. Suren Batagoda last Tuesday.

The President of the CEBEU Saumya Kumarawadu said that the SGM, which is to be held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), will be attended by some 800 engineers. The CEBEU declared last Sunday that if the PUCSL fails to withdraw the LCLTGEP, they would resort to stern trade union action.

Kumarawadu said, with effect from yesterday, the CEBEU removed all its members from Technical Evaluation Committees (TECs) set up at some power plants. Kumarawadu added that they have still not removed their members from the TEC, set up to evaluate such plants for the 2018-2019 period. The CEBEU has already warned that if the Government fails to respond to their demands within the next three weeks, they would even proceed to remove their members from daily operations at all major power plants too.