Over 100 percent power tariff hike soon

By Ifham Nizam

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) 2022 is projected to lose Rs. 500 billion by December, and the Management had to go for an immediate tariff hike, a top official said.The tariff hike had to be at least 100%, he said.

“We have no materials for any new connections. The operations have come for a standstill. Lanka Transformers Ltd., and Kelani Cables aren’t providing cables due to shortage of aluminium and copper in the local market,” he said.

The CEB now depends on salvaging used items for parts just to manage repairs, he said. “As the PM mentioned the cost of producing a unit of electricity is Rs. 48. We can’t keep selling electricity at Rs. 16.50 a unit. We produce between 40 and 45 million units per day. You can imagine the losses,” he said.Meanwhile, the First Unit of the Norochcholai Power Plant Complex, which was shut down on 03 May, would be connected to the national grid by next Monday.The CEB engineers said they were overusing hyrdo power plants.