The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a memorandum submitted by Power and Energy Minister W.D.J. Seneviratne to launch a comprehensive rural electrification scheme with financial assistance from the Government of Iran.

In recent days Sri Lanka has gained a rapid growth in all sectors including the industries. Emergent industries exploit more energy than ever before.

Current scenario in electric generation points in a direction that in nearest future we will have to burn double the fuel we consume today to generate electricity through thermal power.

The Irrigation and Water Management Ministry in collaboration with the Power and Energy Ministry will construct a large scale hydro electricity plant in Wellawaya to generate 300 GWH. This plant will be able to generate power and add 300 GWH to the National Grid, the Irrigation and Water Management Ministry said.

Energy experts believe Sri Lanka should now tap all possible renewable energy sources to cut down on the use of fossil fuels which comes to the country at a high price.

"Our economy will fall behind if we continue spending on foreign oil and coal every year," said Executive Director Energy Forum Ashoka Abeygunawardane at a recent workshop in Colombo.

The Iran Aid Project, Asian Development Bank, International Co-operative agency and NORAD have granted loans for the provision of projects to provide electricity to the villages in the North and East under the concept of providing electricity to the villages islandwide, the Power and Energy Ministry said.

Electricity requirements of the North-East will be met as soon as civil administration is restored, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) stated in a release.

A special discussion with regard to the Iranian Aid Program to implement rural electrification projects worth US$ 50 million was held in Colombo between Power and Energy Minister W.D.J. Seneviratne and representatives from Iran.

Many old buildings including places of worship in the old Maskeliya town emerged arousing the nostalgic memories when the water level in the Hydropower reservoirs dwindled due to the prevailing drought in the upcountry. Maussakele, Castlereigh, and Maskeliya hydropower reservoirs are the worst affected.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Energy Ministers

The Government recently approved an ADB funded project to improve electricity services and support renewable energy. The ADB will provide a loan of US$ 164 million while counterpart funds from the Government of Sri Lanka would be an equivalent of US$ 24 million , LBO reported.

Our parents and grandparents were conservationists by instinct. All the more credit to them as fancy terms had not yet been invented - like reduce, re-use and re-cycle as recipes. Nor of Global Warming, Energy Budgets and Ozone Holes. They simply believed that it was sensible and proper that materials be used maximally or given away rather than being rubbished.