Electricity tariffs to rise 11.5% for next three months: Former PUCSL Chairman Janaka Rathnayake
According to a proposal submitted to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has decided to increase electricity tariffs by 11.5 percent for the next three months, former PUCSL Chairman Janaka Rathnayake said.
Addressing the media he said the proposed increase comes at a time when nearly 35 percent of the country’s population is struggling to secure three meals a day following the impact of Cyclonic Storm Ditwah.
He said several institutions had estimated the total damage caused by the cyclone at between USD 5 billion and USD 6 billion, while losses to the CEB alone were reported to be around Rs. 20 billion.
Referring to the CEB proposal, Rathnayake said tariff revisions had been justified based on gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecasts for 2026 made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He added that the CEB’s revenue for last year stood at approximately Rs. 470 billion.
Rathnayake claimed that the CEB is attempting to recover around 60 percent of its reported losses from consumers following the latest tariff revision.
Rathnayake also noted that despite recent heavy rainfall, the CEB has reported generating around 60 percent of electricity using thermal power rather than hydropower, further questioning the justification for a tariff hike.
The proposal also includes a request to remove all concessionary tariff rates between 2026 and 2029, bring all consumers under a single flat-rate system, and eliminate cross-subsidisation among consumer categories.
