Former PUCSL Chief calls for 30% electricity tariff cut

Tuesday, 29 October 2024 02:59 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Former PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake

Former Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) Chairman Janaka Ratnayake yesterday called for an at least 30% reduction in electricity tariff, arguing that the latest proposed revision from the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is unjustified given the utility’s recent profits.

Addressing the media, he highlighted that the CEB recently submitted a proposal for a modest 5-11% tariff revision to the electricity regulator for the third quarterly review of this year. “On average this revision is around 6%,” he said, adding that it was inadequate considering the massive profits generated by the CEB. Ratnayake pointed to the CEB’s robust profits over the past two years, noting that the utility achieved a gross profit of Rs. 133 billion in the first eight months of 2023 and Rs. 62 billion in 2022, totalling Rs. 195 billion.

“This proposal is unfair to the public,” he said, asserting that such profits generated through what he described as ‘illegal tariff hikes’, should be returned to electricity users in the form of rate cuts.

Ratnayake also criticised the PUCSL’s latest proposal as it obscures the CEB’s recent profitability by citing accumulated losses over the past decade to justify a more modest tariff reduction. “I think the profits from the illegal tariff hikes should be given back to the public rather than masked by previous year’s losses,” he stressed.