- JVP-NPP TUs may consider following suit
- SLPP ‘independents’ to await Cabinet paper
While the main Parliamentary Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) which is also of the Opposition have announced that it will initiate legal action against the proposed electricity tariff hikes, the Opposition’s Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People's Power (NPP) and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) “independent” group of MPs in the Opposition, including former Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila, have, however, not reached a final decision in that regard.
Speaking to The Morning, SJB National Organiser and MP Tissa Attanayake said: “What we ask the Government is not to increase electricity tariffs at this point. It has already been hiked on several occasions and the people cannot afford another hike. If the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is making losses, it should be recovered not by placing the burden on the people, but by eliminating the corruption and wastage of the Government. Therefore, we hope to initiate legal action against the Government's move following a discussion with the SJB group of MPs.”
Meanwhile, SLFP General Secretary MP Dayasiri Jayasekara, when contacted by The Morning, said that the SLFP will definitely initiate legal action against the proposed electricity tariff hike as soon as the same is announced by the Government.
When queried as to whether the NPP has plans to take legal action against the proposed tariff hike, NPP MP Dr. Harini Amarasuriya said: “Not at the moment. However, the trade unions (TUs) that are working with us might consider all these options including court proceedings. We will not rule anything out.”
Gammanpila told The Morning that his group of MPs has not yet planned to initiate legal action over the matter.
“We can never say that we will go to court without seeing the Cabinet paper. I have seen several politicians saying that they will go to court if the Government will increase electricity tariffs, but we cannot go to court just because it is an injustice, or it is politically incorrect. There must be a legal issue to be resolved by the Supreme Court. Without seeing the Cabinet paper and the decision, how can we say that we will challenge this in court? So, whether to go to court or not will be decided after seeing the relevant Cabinet paper.”
The Ministry of Power and Energy will submit a Cabinet paper on 2 January 2023, to increase electricity tariffs by around Rs. 48.40 per unit in order to ensure an uninterrupted supply of electricity to consumers soon after the new tariffs come into effect in 2023.
Speaking to the media, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera said that the proposed tariff revision will cover the deficit of Rs. 277.5 billion which was the result of the tariff hike in August of this year (2022). However, the Government’s preparations to increase electricity tariffs have seen great opposition from several parties such as trade unions, religious leaders including Buddhist monks, the business community, and other civil society organisations.