Power Tariff Hike Of Over 100 Percent Soon
Shakila Ifham
May 27, 2022
With the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) 2022 losses projected to top Rs. 500 billion by December, it was now forced to go for an immediate power tariff hike, a top official said.
“Our days are numbered”, he said.
The top official who did not want to be identified told Earthlanka that it would have to be a more than 100 per cent tariff hike at the earliest.
“We have no resources for any new connections …everything has come for a standstill,” a senior engineer said adding that Lanka Transformers Limited and Kelani Cables weren’t providing cables due to shortage of Aluminum and Copper in the local market.
He said that even when it comes to repair and maintenance they were managing with mostly discarded stuff.
Its Board of Management also points out that they no longer could sell a unit of electricity at Rs. 16.50 when the average cost of producing a unit was Rs. 48. “We produce between 40 and 45 million units per day.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) would shortly spell out a new tariff system, an official said adding that they had to stick with those guidelines to survive.
Meanwhile, the First Unit of the Norochcholai Power Plant Complex which was shut down on May 3 would be reconnected to the national grid by next Monday, engineers at the Power Plant Complex said adding that the hydro power capacity too had jumped to more than 50 per cent and the Board was making maximum use of hydro catchments.
The Board explained that thanks to more than 50 per cent of the power generation over the last few days came from hydro power plants, Norochcholai problem was marginal.
Responding to queries, CEB Spokesperson Andrew Nawamani agreed that though the first unit was shut down for annual routine maintenance, few technical problems had delayed the process.
Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera also said that they would go all out to make maximum out of renewable energy resources.
Vested interests had been literally sabotaging President Rajapaksa’s aim to ensure that renewable electricity would have a preeminent presence in the country by 2030
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