PUCSL: CEB increases tariff without managing its cash flow properly

By Ifham Nizam

The Cabinet-of-Minister has decided to ask the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) to provide alternative recommendations to the proposed tariff rates before 15 Feb.

“There is a high probability that it would take five to 10 days more to revise tariffs, even if everything goes smoothly,” said a Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) official.

The PUCSL is in the process of studying the Cabinet recommendations, but public consultations was a key ingredient in its decision making, a senior official said.

The electricity tariff revisions, approved by the Cabinet, would be effective from 01 January 2023, Cabinet Spokesman, Minister Bandula Gunawardane, said yesterday.

A tariff hike of 65 percent in January 2023 was on the cards to offset CEB costs, a spokesman said.

CEB General Manager, Rohan Seneviratne, told journalists that the regulator had not allowed a sufficient increase in August last year. A majority of the consumers were ready to pay more, the GM claimed.

The General Manager’s statement has angered the public.

The PUCSL has stressed that the proposed electricity tariff hike is unacceptable and the CEB has not incurred a huge loss over the past few years.

While accepting the public petition, signed by 6.9 million electricity consumers, at his office, PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake yesterday said the CEB did not incur losses.

He said that the main cause of the loss was the CEB’s inability to manage Rs. 35 billion cash flow properly.

When valuing one tonne of coal, there was a price discrepancy of USD 90. “There is an error in this calculation,” he said.

“The proposal for the electricity rate revision is an illegal decision taken by the Ministry,” PUCSL Chief stressed.