• Inform PUCSL of impact on apparel, food-making, agri. sectors 

The National Women’s Unity organisation urged the authorities to take immediate measures to reduce the cost of electricity, underscoring that the existing electricity fares have dealt a heavy blow to entrepreneurs.

Presenting a set of proposals to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) to be taken into account in the first electricity fare revision next year (2025), the organisation stressed that fair price revisions are the right of every citizen. Presenting both national-level and provincial-level proposals, they said that electricity should be priced including only the costs of generation and distribution, while the excess profit earned through the sale of electricity should be distributed among electricity consumers, the expenses should be slashed with a low-cost generation plan, the Government should take over power plants that do not meet standards, and the programme for providing 100,000 solar panels for low-income groups which has come to a halt should be resumed.

The organisation’s President, Hashini Silva, told The Daily Morning that these proposals should be taken into account without delay as many small-scale businesses are on the brink of collapse. “The majority of those involved in domestic and small-scale entrepreneurship are women. Even those engaged in such efforts at a small-scale, which require electricity, are giving up these efforts or have reduced their efforts.” She added that high electricity fares have resulted in a negative impact on sectors such as apparel, food manufacturing, and agriculture, and that overall, these issues prevail in almost all areas of the country. 

In addition, explaining that the social, economic, and environmental factors prevailing in various provinces are not the same, she explained that the authorities should therefore go beyond merely looking into fare revisions and take decisions in a manner that takes into account these diverse factors.