Was the electricity supply to Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Carlton House disconnected due to unpaid bills?
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Ever since the ousting of the Rajapaksa regime in 2022, the members of the Rajapaksa family have continuously been targeted on social media, including several misleading posts.
Social Media Posts
A viral social media claim alleges that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) disconnected the electricity supply to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s residence, Carlton House in Tangalle, due to unpaid bills.
TikTok users also widely shared these posts, as seen below.
This fact-check investigates the claim's validity based on official sources and media reports.
Fact Check
No Reports of Disconnection Due to Unpaid Bills: To verify this claim, we searched for reports from mainstream media outlets and found no evidence supporting the claim that the power supply to Carlton House was cut due to unpaid bills.
Lankadeepa Report: We found an article published on the Lankadeepa website clarifying that two of the three-phase electricity lines supplying power to Carlton House had been removed. However, the report states that this action was taken under the government policy of removing former MP provisions and that these additional power lines had been installed under privileges granted to members of Parliament, including Mahinda Rajapaksa. Lankadeepa's article can be read here.
CEB Regional Office Confirmation: To further clarify, we contacted the CEB office in Walasmulla, the area responsible for the Carlton House. A CEB official confirmed that no power supply disconnection was carried out at Carlton House due to unpaid bills.
Instead, they confirmed that some of the three-phase power lines, which had been installed on former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s property for various purposes, including ones for security lights, were removed according to standard rules and regulations following the dissolution of Parliament.
The son of Mahinda Rajapaksa, a recent presidential candidate, Namal Rajapaksa’s media, also responded to these claims, stating the viral posts were fake, as seen here.
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Conclusion
The claim that the electricity supply to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Carlton House was disconnected due to unpaid bills is false. The removal of two three-phase power lines was related to the dissolution of Parliament and the cessation of privileges provided to MPs, not due to non-payment of bills. The CEB has confirmed that there was no disruption to the regular electricity supply to the residence.
