brand logo

Electricity tariff hike: PUCSL contradicts CEB 

27 Feb 2022

  • Tariff increase must happen: CEB
  • Furnace oil prices rise by 57%
  • CEB bypassing PUCSL: Ratnayake
By Asiri Fernando The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) made contradictory statements yesterday (26) with regard to the need for an electricity price revision.  The PUCSL denied reports that the CEB had submitted a request to the regulator for an electricity tariff increase aimed at bridging the cost-income gap created when using thermal power generation. According to CEB Spokesperson and Additional General Manager Andrew Navamani, the CEB had handed over a request for a tariff revision to the PUCSL. “A tariff increase must happen due to the fuel price hike. Furnace oil prices have gone up by 57% (Rs. 70 to 110), so have prices of naphtha, coal, and diesel. The impact is the same for the CEB as well as Independent Power Producers (IPP). The regulator has to take the matter forward,” Navamani told The Sunday Morning. However, PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake told The Sunday Morning that the regulator had not received such a request. The need for a revision of the electricity tariff has been long discussed, with energy experts pointing out that the low tariff is one of the reasons the CEB has been running at a loss for several years, incurring billions of rupees in debt to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and State banks. With the ongoing foreign currency shortage and rising oil prices due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, maintaining uninterrupted supply of fuel for transport, power generation, industry, and domestic use looks increasingly unsustainable.  At a special Cabinet discussion held recently, a request to increase the fuel price at the pump was also turned down. Ratnayake blamed the CEB for not following the set procedure and attempting  to bypass the regulator and seek Cabinet approval directly, which he said would complicate and delay the outcome. “There is a process we need to follow. The CEB has not followed the PUCSL Act or the Electricity Board Act. It bypasses us and goes to the Ministry, be it on tariffs or tenders. It bypasses us in breach of the established process and goes directly to the Ministry and Cabinet and gets the issue bogged down for months, sometimes years. This should stop,” Ratnayake stressed.    


More News..