CEB will knock out low-income households from national grid, warns EUA

By Sanath Nanayakkare

Many low-income households, across the country, whose food bills consume the entirety of their daily wages, will soon be cut off from the national grid, in the face of the latest upswing in electricity prices, Chairman, Electricity Users Association (EUA) M.D.R Athula, said yesterday.

“The new electricity tariff hike, approved by the Public Utilities Commission (PUCSL), which is already enforced by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), is a massive blow to the low-income families of the country who are not only fighting against hunger today but have also been pushed into deeper poverty due to high cost of medicine and travel expenditure” he said.

“We are certain that there will be thousands of low-income households that will be unable to pay their electricity bills, in the upcoming months, and will be facing power disconnection at the hands of the CEB. We suggest that Power and Energy Minister, Kanchana Wijesekara, establish a special task force, under the CEB, to handle widespread power disconnection, arising from non-payment of bills, in the near future,” he said.

“All electricity customers pay a security deposit, as informed by the CEB, when they get a connection. According to the Electricity Act, these funds should be deposited to accrue interest on it. This amount is now over Rs. 25 billion and there has been no interest collection on it from 2009. If the authorities get this massive interest payment in place and deposit it in a separate account, they can utilize it to give substantial relief to low-income families who experience grave difficulties in paying their electricity bills,” he said.