It’s reported that the government has decided to revise the payment rate per unit of electricity generated by solar panels installed on rooftops.

Sources from the Ministry of Energy indicate that a cabinet paper has been submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers to implement these revisions based on recommendations from the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

Accordingly, the unit price paid for rooftop solar electricity generation has been revised, with proposed adjustments based on the amount of electricity generated.

At present, the payment per unit is Rs.27, but under the new revisions, it is expected to be reduced to Rs.19.

For solar systems generating less than 20 kilowatts, the proposed payment per unit is Rs.19. Systems generating between 20 and 100 kilowatts will receive Rs.17 per unit, while systems generating between 100 and 500 kilowatts will receive Rs.15 per unit.

However, these new tariff rates will apply only to newly installed rooftop solar systems, while existing installations will continue to receive payments at the current rate.

Police have arrested another suspect in connection with the fatal shooting incident on Sinhasana Road, in front of the Sri Vishnu Devalaya in Dondra.

The suspect was arrested on March 23rd in the Gandara police division.

According to the police, officers from the Matara Divisional Crimes Unit arrested the suspect for his involvement in setting fire to the van used by the assailants in the shooting incident. He was subsequently handed over to the Gandara Police Station.

The arrested suspect is a 34-year-old resident of the Dondra area.

The Matara Divisional Crimes Unit and the Gandara Police, are continuing further investigations.

Minister of Public Security – Ananda Wijepala states that 500 newly recruited officers of the Police Special Task Force (STF) will be deployed to combat organized crime and other illegal activities.

He further mentioned that a group of new recruits completing their training soon, are to be deployed in this manner.

Meanwhile, four police teams have been deployed to control the recent spate of shooting incidents in the Southern Province, reports say.

Also, two special police teams have been assigned to the Ambalangoda area specifically to  tackle organized crime.