Although the water tariffs should definitely be raised in view of the recent revision of electricity tariffs, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) stated however that a final decision regarding the matter is yet to be taken.

The Deputy General Manager of the NWSDB, N.K. Ranatunga had told the media that water tariffs need to be raised soon, given the recent electricity tariff hike.

Accordingly, The Daily Morning contacted the Deputy General Manager (Commercial) of the NWSDB, Piyal Pathmanatha and queried as to whether a percentage at which the tariffs would be raised had been decided, to which he said: "It is true that water tariffs should be raised in line with the recent electricity tariff hike, but we have not yet taken a final decision in this regard. There are no preparations as of now to raise tariffs."

On an earlier occasion, Pathmanatha said that the main factors taken into account in raising water tariffs were electricity charges, fuel prices and loan interest rates. The reasons for the said factors to be considered, he said, were the need for a large electrical capacity for water pumping and distribution related activities, the need for fuel for maintenance activities and the fact that the NWSDB has to pay large sums of loans taken from the general Treasury.

The majority of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) members, namely Chathurika Wijesinghe, Douglas Nanayakkara and S.G. Senaratne had approved an increase in electricity tariffs by 66% effective from 15 February 2023, notwithstanding the objections raised by its Chairman Janaka Ratnayake. This comes after the tariff hike which was implemented in August 2022, and the same is to result in the mulled water tariff hike.