• Chairman mum on whether AG’s advice received and factored in decision 

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has “unanimously” decided not to implement the retrospective interim electricity tariff hike put forward by the Power and Energy Ministry and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and which was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

“The members of the PUCSL unanimously decided not to implement the interim tariff revision with retrospective effect,” PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake noted in a media statement last evening (31 January).

When contacted by The Daily Morning seeking a clarification on whether the opinions of the relevant legal experts, including Attorney General (AG), President’s Counsel Sanjay Rajaratnam and those from the private and unofficial bar, had been received on the legality of imposing an interim electricity tariff hike with retrospective effect, and factored in when making this decision that has been announced, Ratnayake said: “The discussion with the AG is confidential and therefore, cannot be divulged.”

The Government led by President and Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policies Ranil Wickremesinghe, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera and the CEB has, for months, been at loggerheads with the industry regulator, the PUCSL, and especially its Chairman Ratnayake. The conflict has intensified ever since the latter vetoed yet another tariff hike as a solution to the crisis faced by the CEB, and has also noted the lack of legal provisions for an interim tariff revision and also for a tariff revision that has retrospective effect from 1 January 2023.