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Many people are paying close attention to electricity tariff revisions these days, as the International Monetary Fund has announced that the electricity sector must be cost-reflective before the next loan installment is released.
Meanwhile, based on media reports that the Chairman of the Electricity Board, Dr. Thilak Siyambalapitiya, has resigned, posts are being circulated on social media and we decided to clarify the facts.
Social Media Posts :
A post circulated on social media stating, “It is reported that the Chairman of the Electricity Board has submitted his resignation letter after Tilvin Silva verbally abused the Chairman who opposed the increase in electricity rates.”
This was widely shared through Facebook as well.
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Here’s how we checked the credibility of this claim.
Explainer :
The main media outlets reported on the 11th that the Chairman of the Electricity Board, Dr. Thilak Siyambalapitiya, had resigned from his position and that a letter had been sent to the Ministry of Energy regarding that.
A new appoinment is made if the position of Charman of the Electricity Board remains vacant, and as we didn’t see such an announcment made so far, we contacted the Media Secreatary of Ministry of Energy, Minister Kumara Jayakody to inquire about this. He said that the Chairman of the Electricity Board, Dr. Thilak Siyambalapitiya, has taken a leave of absence to travel abroad for a short period of time, and that it is true that he assumed the position of Chairman of the Electricity Board for a short period of time, but he has not resigned from his position and will continue to serve.
However, with media reports stating that his resignation letter was handed over to the Minister of Energy, some social media posts pointed out that he resigned from the position because he was reportedly verbally abused by the General Secretary of the JVP, Tilvin Silva, for opposing the increase in electrcity tariffs. Although we are unable to independently verify this, we have inquired with both parties involved.
Accordingly, an inquiry was made to the Chairman of the Electricity Board, Dr. Tilak Siyambalapitiya, who is currently abroad, and he stated that this is completely false information and that he has never met Mr. Tilvin Silva. He also stated that the comments made in media reports that the issue here is due to unnecessary interference by the political authority and the Public Utilities Commission’s cost effective electricity tariff system are false. However, even though we inquired about whether he had resigned from the position of Chairman, he has not yet responded to us.
We also inquired about this from the General Secretary of the JVP, Tilvin Silva. He pointed out that he had never spoken to or met Dr. Thilak Siyambalapitiya and that these posts were false.
The Presidential Media Division stated that Dr. Thilak Siyambalapitiya assumed duties as the Chairman of the Electricity Board for a short period of two months at the request of the National People’s Power Government. However, they point out that he has continued to serve in office beyond that period and has currently been granted leave to travel abroad temporarily, and that he has not resigned from office. They also stated that Mr. Tilvin Silva has never insulted the Chairman of the Electricity Board as shown on social media posts, and as the Genral Secretary of the JVP, he carries out only the administrative work of the party and does not deal with government officials in the government as there is a seperate minister for ministerial affairs.
The first electricity tariff revision of this year took place on January 17th. At that time, the Public Utilities Commission decided to reduce electricity tariffs by 20 percent.
The International Monetary Fund has requested a revision of electricity tariffs, and accordingly, the government has announced that electricity tariffs will be revised in the future.
However, local media reported that the Ceylon Electricity Board has not yet submitted relevant proposals to the Public Utilities Commission.
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Title:Did the chairman of the Electricity Board submit his resignation letter after being scolded by Tilvin Silva?
Fact Check By: Factcrescendo TeamResult: Insight
