Sri Lanka reduces electrocutions by 50% in 2018

Sri Lanka reduced electrocutions by 50 percent to 89 electrocutions in 2018, compared with the 180 electrocutions reported in 2012, Electrocution Report 2018 by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), the regulator for the electricity industry, says.  

According to the international benchmark, the possibility of occurring electrocution is only one electrocution for one million people, per year. 

In 2012, Sri Lanka was at the position of nine electrocutions for one million people, which has now reduced to five electrocutions for one million people per year, by 2018. 

The PUCSL, as the safety regulator of the industry, has taken various measures to make the public aware on the safe use of electricity and has introduced many regulatory tools, including the framework for licensing of electricians, national standard for plugs and sockets, rules and regulations with regard to minimum distance of power lines to premises, etc. to create an electrical safety environment for the public and premises. 

The latest statistics show males are more exposed to electrocutions as 83 percent from the total electrocutions reported in 2018 were males. 

The Southern Province reported the highest electrocutions in 2018, while the Sabaragamuwa Province reported the lowest. 

The Southern Province reported 67 electrocutions during the period of 2015-18, which stands the highest in the country, compared to the electrocutions reported in other provinces during the same period. 

Drawing power lines illegally to protect cultivation or to kill wild animals has been identified as the main reason for the highest number of electrocutions in the country, while mistakes and carelessness during activities near the power lines and improper or unsafe wiring (installation) and bad maintenance practices also have contributed largely to the electrocutions 
in 2018.