• To also complain to the HRCSL about non-return of Rs. 16,975 m CEB ‘profits’ to the public, Samagi United TU Alliance-Energy TU Coalition follow suit 

The Electricity Consumers’ Association (ECA) stated that it would initiate legal action against the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) for failing to direct the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to reduce electricity tariffs in the latest quarterly (October-December 2025) revision.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, ECA General Secretary Sanjeewa Dhammika opined that the decision not to reduce tariffs, despite the CEB recording a profit of Rs. 25,462 million over the past three quarters (January-March 2025, April-June 2025, July-September 2025), was a grave injustice to consumers. He claimed that only one-third of that amount – Rs. 8,487 million – was reflected in the recent tariff revision, leaving Rs. 16,975 million unreturned to the public.

“Why did the PUCSL not direct the CEB to reduce the electricity bill and give the people the huge profits earned in the last three quarters? We are taking legal action and also lodging a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL). The delay in returning this money, after unfairly collecting it for months, is a great injustice to the consumers,” he claimed.

Dhammika further charged that consumers had been forced to pay inflated bills under a financial strain, in recent years. He questioned: “People paid their electricity bills by borrowing at high interest or mortgaging their assets. The successive governments strangled the public to collect this money. So, why wasn’t it returned as a subsidy? Does the PUCSL have the right to allocate public funds for the benefit of the CEB in this way?”

The PUCSL announced early this week that it had decided not to amend the existing electricity tariffs for the current quarter. PUCSL Chairperson Prof. K.P.L. Chandralal said that the decision was made after reviewing public submissions and the electricity calculation methodology. He noted that while the CEB had requested a 6.8% tariff increase, the PUCSL had decided to maintain the current rates for the next three months.

Meanwhile, Samagi United Trade Union (TU) Alliance and Energy TU Coalition Convenor Ananda Palitha has sought the HRCSL’s assistance against the recent decision made by the PUCSL not to permit the most recent electricity tariff revision sought by the CEB. Speaking to the media yesterday (16), Palitha claimed that while rejecting the CEB's proposed tariff revision, the PUCSL should have taken steps to reduce electricity tariffs, and that such a reduction is now due as the CEB has been making undue profits. 

“The PUCSL has contributed to the CEB receiving Rs. 25,000 million from electricity consumers since the latter part of last year (2024) to date,” he further claimed, alleging that this is against the PUCSL Act. Palitha further explained that in a context where the CEB calculates the electricity bill based on the cost, when profits are made in excess of the cost, that benefit should be passed on to consumers at the next revision, which he said did not happen through the PUCSL's recent decision. 

He opined that an opportunity to reduce electricity charges at least by 20% was missed. Moreover, he expressed concerns as to whether electricity consumers would receive that benefit, as the CEB will soon be converted into four bodies in accordance with the ongoing restructuring process. According to Palitha, during the past three months alone, the CEB has made profits amounting to Rs. 8,000 million, which he claimed were undue profits.