Disconnecting domestic electric supply: Can some public consensus help the poor

Arecent news item of a father getting electrocuted by trying to connect the electricity from his neighbour’s supply, in an attempt to ensure that his two children could study at night, should evoke a sense of public sympathy for this desperate act.

Some years ago, we as surgeons were saddled with the problem of bottle lamp burns. Invariably it was a child whose clothing caught fire, when the bottle lamp she/he used to study with, was toppled by a cat or the wind from an open window. The kerosene on her clothes was set alight. This led to nightmarish situation on account of the pain that ensued, with daily dressings despite the sedation and a prolonged hospital stay often ending with deformity or death. Fortunately Dr. Godakumbura’s safety lamp, mitigated the prevalence of these incidents, and rural electrification that followed zeroed it.

According to what was stated by Minister Kanchana Wijesekera in Parliament, the reality of rural darkness in households has reared its ugly head again, with almost a million disconnections. I gather many have reconnected (cost- Rs 3000) soon after, or so the CEB and LECO claim. Whether the disconnections were to domestic supplies or otherwise is not specified. How many domestic users failed to reconnect as they were too poor? Even on questioning the CEB’S statistics unit, these figures remain unknown.

The average units consumed by the domestic demand in Sri Lanka, is stated to be 67 kWh per month. If only two 60 watt bulbs (dining and bedroom) and one 40 watt bulb are used in the toilet over a month, the basic household needs in the six hours (i.e. 6 p.m.-12 midnight) of darkness (160x 6x 31= 29,760 watts) 30 kWh approx: /month i.e. 30 units/month. The lowest tariff slab in CEB bills is up to 30 units/month at Rs. 32 per unit.

How many households consuming 30 and less were disconnected and not reconnected? I am sure the discerning public would be interested to know. Could there be, by public consensus, a means to accommodate only those domestic users who use 30 or < kWh/ month into a separate tariff slab at a very low cost per unit and reduce their reconnection charges as well?

The LED bulbs are lower in watts (7-8x) but, 6x more costly, and considering the vagaries of the two year warranty cards, difficult for this sector to bear. However equivalent LED lighting will approximate to only 3.5 units /month.