The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) stated that it would discuss with the relevant parties and come to a decision regarding the request made by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) Chairman Janaka Ratnayake for the former to propose a reduction in electricity tariffs by May in view of the recent developments that drive down the electricity utility.
When contacted by The Daily Morning, a senior official of the CEB said that a decision with regard to such a request cannot be made without having discussions with the relevant parties. “This is something that has to be discussed. We cannot make a comment on this kind of a matter just because someone has made a request. All we can say is that the CEB has received the relevant letter. We will look into the matter and make a decision. Once a decision is made, we will inform everyone including the public.”
Ratnayake had recently urged the CEB to propose a tariff reduction taking into account the recent developments in the country that drive down the electricity utility. Issuing a statement, he said that as per actual data for the first quarter of the year, the electricity demand in the country has dropped by 18% in comparison to last year (2022), explaining that this reduces the reliance on high cost oil fired thermal electricity generation. Further noting that the United States dollar (US $) exchange rate has gone down from Rs. 370 per US dollar to around Rs. 325 per US dollar, which is a 13% reduction, he said that the same brings down fuel and other import costs of the CEB, thereby reducing the costs by about 20% per annum.
“In addition to those two cost drivers, international fuel prices too have reduced significantly, and as a result, the fuel costs to the CEB would reduce significantly. At present, the Richards Bay Coal index is at $ 133 per Metric Tonne (MT), Singapore PLATTS for Furnace Oil is $ 403/MT, Singapore PLATTS for Diesel is $ 98.38 per barrel and Singapore PLATTS for high quality chemical Naphtha is $ 674/MT,” the statement read. He had therefore requested the CEB to propose a reduced electricity tariff structure capturing all these recent developments by 15 May.