CEB Tail On Fire Turns Everywhere For More Funding
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) with an overdraft of Rs. 12 billion to the People’s Bank is also planning to go for a debenture issue of Rs. 10 billion through the PB, and the Board was also awaiting five billion rupees overdraft from the Bank of Ceylon, informed officials said. Spokesman for the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy Sulakshana Jayawardena, contacted for comment told The Earthlanka that the debenture would take couple of months as they had to get the endorsed by a number of state institutions, particularly of the Treasury Department.
Responding to queries, he said that their financial woes would continue unless they go for low cost power or high tariff. The latter he said had a unbearable social cost, which could not be ignored. He also said that some of the state owned institutions had to pay the Board billions of rupees. The Board with a mountain of debt totaling more than Rs. 200 billion, was managing with a daily income of about Rs. 500-600 million, he said. The daily electricity demand that was between 35 and 38 GWh had jumped to 44 to 45 GWh due to dry weather countrywide. Meanwhile, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has informed Power and Energy Minister Mahinda Amaraweera that state institutions and others owed the CPC Rs. 160 billion, of which CEB came first with nearly Rs. 90 billion in outstanding -exceeding the credit limit. The Corporation points out that the biggest debtor, CEB with nearly Rs. 90 billion in unsettled loans, was more than stipulated credit limit of Rs. 80 billion.
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