Veil Of Secrecy Discarded From Discussion On Power Tariff Revision
Shakila Ifham
January 10, 2024
Two representatives of renewable energy groups and an official who represented the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce felt uneasy to witness journalists being invited for a discussion on Ceylon Electricity Board End User Tariff held at the CEB Headquarters in Colombo yesterday (January 9)
However, the Electrical Engineering Society of the University of Moratuwa (EESoc), which is one of the major stakeholders in policy drafting insisted that the media should be there as they wanted transparency in something of paramount importance.
CEB Acting General Manager Dr. Narendra de Silva said that they intend to file the next tariff submission to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka shortly. Prior to it, the CEB Board of Management intends to obtain comments and concerns of stakeholders.
CEB Deputy General Manager/ Spokesman Eng. Noel Priyantha defended the presence of media personnel saying that there is nothing to hide. However, journalists moved away respecting the privacy of some by saying `we can get the information from wherever it may be’.
It is understood that once the CEB submits the facts and data relating to the call to bring down the electricity tariff the regulator, the Public Utilities Commission (PUCSL) will make the final decision soon.
CEB incurred a loss of Rs. 16.8 billion in September, 2023 however, in November, it earned a profit of Rs. 31.8 billion.
The board intends to pass on the benefit of the hydropower bonus at the earliest, a spokesman said.
Engineer Priyantha said that on their part, they are committed to providing concessions to electricity consumers with the recent massive hydropower generation.
“It is not a profit-oriented institution. Therefore, whatever benefit is earned by the board will be passed on to the public.”
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