CEBEU calls for wide-ranging, transparent consultations to redraft Electricity Act

By Ifham Nizam

Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union (CEBEU) has called for the assistance of the Minister of Finance, Secretary, Ministry of Power and Energy, the IMF, ADB, World Bank, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to redraft the Electricity Act with absolute transparency.

The CEBEU addressing Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said recently: `As you are well aware through the various communications we had with you, during the recent past, including the limited physical discussions, the CEBEU as the major professional stakeholder employee trade union in CEB, has been actively engaging in and appearing for the need for reform in the power sector in Sri Lanka, including a substantial restructuring of CEB.

Meanwhile, a senior spokesperson of the CEBEU told The Island Financial Review: ‘As a professional trade union, CEBEU has expressed our genuine enthusiasm for a truthful restructuring of the power sector in Sri Lanka including CEB, through which a significant number of issues in the Sri Lankan power sector could be resolved. Also, we wish to emphasize that restructuring CEB only would not solve every problem in the power sector, including key issues, such as high electricity cost, policy inconsistency and politicization and truly independent sector regulation. CEBEU strongly believes that a proper reform process would not materialize without a coherent consultation with the key stakeholders, including the engineers of the CEB and specialists of the power sector.

‘The CEBEU has also told the minister that the Union reconfirms its stance that it unconditionally stands with the 23,000+ CEB employees, as they appeal for genuine belief. It wishes to safeguard the power sector of the country by appealing to the government to listen to its concerns regarding this new Act and to implement an open transparent stakeholder consultation process before finalizing the proposed draft Act.

‘We wish to reiterate that restructuring CEB only would not serve the purpose and a holistic reform approach involving a systematic policy review based on critical vulnerabilities is needed and only by doing so, that sustainable solutions could be achieved. CEBEU has repeatedly requested the authorities, including the Minister of Power and Energy on several occasions, to create a platform to discuss matters related to the reform process in detail. The Reform Office is the ideal platform for these purposes.

‘The draft Bill was not shared with any party until its publication on December 8, 2023. Further, CEBEU has explained that the secretive manner in which the sector reforms are being tried, will eventually lead to a lack of trust in reforms and result in the failure of the process.

‘Unfortunately, it appears that what the CEBEU has repeatedly pointed out about the lack of trust among employees has become a reality today.

‘This would not have happened if the Ministry of Power had taken the necessary steps to make this reform process transparent and trustworthy among employees of CEB and other stakeholders of the sector, by creating an open transparent platform in drafting this new legislation which affects all citizens of the country and by establishing a grievance redress mechanism for the employees of the CEB.’