By Saman Indrajith

Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), Janaka Ratnayake has told the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) that petrol and diesel can be priced at approximately Rs. 250.

He made this statement when the COPE summoned PUCSL officials to examine the Auditor General’s report for PUCSL for the years 2018 and 2019 and current performance of the Commission.

During the meeting, Rathnayake mentioned that when he checked the import prices of petroleum and the taxes levied by the government, he had realised that both petrol and diesel could be sold at cheaper rates.

Rathnayake pointed out that petrol and diesel could be sold at Rs. 200 less than the current price. He also said that the government had collected a tax of Rs. 280 on one liter of diesel imported on 01 July.

The PUCSL Chairman said it was his personal opinion and did not reflect the view of the PUCSL.

The COPE members questioned Ratnayake on his qualifications for becoming the chairman of the commission. Ratnayake said he had obtained a Special Degree in Public Administration from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and a Postgraduate degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Colombo. He said that he had also studied at Harvard University. As for his political qualifications, he stated that since 2005, he had been a supporter of the Rajapaksas.

COPE Chairman Prof. Charitha Herath said the statement made by PUCSL Chairman regarding the fuel price would be discussed at length, and the officials from the Ministry of Power and Energy and the PUCSL Chairman would be summoned before the COPE in the future to further examine it, Prof. Herath said.

The COPE also looked at the decision taken by the commission to rent a Benz car, manufactured in the year 2005, without fuel or driver from a company called General Business (Pvt.) Ltd without entering into any agreement for one year from 07 December 2021.

The annual rent for the vehicle was Rs. 4.5 million and on 31 May 2022, Rs. 2.18 million had been paid to the aforesaid company.

The COPE members pointed out that the documents on hiring of this vehicle had not been submitted for audit, and they included a recommendation for hiring a 15-year-old vehicle, as well as the irregularities in calling for bids for the hiring of the vehicle, and the issues of transparency in the payment of rent for it Accordingly, the COPE Chairman recommended that an investigation be conducted and a full report submitted.

The COPE also informed that the Organisation Structure and Salary Structure of the PUCSL should be developed on the recommendation of the National Salary and Cadre Commission and the approval of the Department of Management Services. The COPE recommended the Finance Minister to submit an amendment to the Cabinet for approval.

The COPE pointed out that Rs. 45.8 million had been paid to the staff of the institution as 11 types of allowances. The committee also said that Rs. 86.8 million, of the total operational cost (49% of the total amount) had been spent on public awareness programs.

The COPE also discussed the electricity generation plan for the years 2018-2037. The officials present mentioned that data on another new generation plan had been submitted in 2021 and it had not been approved as the appropriate requirements were not met. The Committee mentioned that when the political authorities changed, problems arose due to the change of those plans.

Under the Electricity (Distribution) Performance Standards Orders mentioned in a special gazette notice issued in 2016, the commission had been assigned to prepare and enforce performance rules within 36 months, but that task had not been completed, the COPE said.

The members of the committee were Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Indika Anuruddha, (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, (Dr.) Nalaka Godaheva, Jayantha Samaraweera, Premnath C. Dolawatta and Madura Withanage were present. Also, several MPs who are not members of the committee also participated with the permission of the chairman of the committee.