Will not allow to increase electricity tariffs: PUCSL chairman
The Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) Janaka Ratnayake Yesterday – 01st December vowed not to allow an increase in electricity tariffs as cabinet approval is not sufficient.
Cabinet approval is not sufficient to go ahead with that proposal to cover the loss of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Cabinet ministers cannot make announcements at their leisure, he told the media yesterday.
“The PUCSL has the authority to announce such a proposal to increase tariffs,” he added.
He also said that certain facts in the cabinet paper were out of line with the Electricity Act and the PUCSL Act when deciding the tariff. The tariff amendments should be imposed on a cost recovery basis. There is a procedure to increase the tariff, and there is a methodology.
According to the cabinet approval, revising the tariff is impractical because the country does not receive much rain in the first half of the month, resulting in a massive tariff hike. Because the country will receive a lot of rain in the second half of the year, the fluctuation will be very high. The CEB was not happy with the PUCSL-approved revision, he said.
“There is a law in the country, and we should act according to that. This is a complete misrepresentation of the people in the country.” Ratnayake emphasized that the PUCSL had made no such decision.
