EUA threatens electricity consumer rebellion against proposed tariff hikes

By Anuradha Hiripitiyage

Minister of Power and Energy, Kanchana Wijesekera had instructed officials to charge Rs 50 per unit of electricity from those who consumed less than 30 units a month, Electricity Users Association (EUA) Secretary Sanjeewa Dhammika told the media yesterday.He said that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) claimed that it needed to secure an additional 300 billion next year to cover its costs.

 “Now, the low-income families get a unit of electricity at eight rupees. The Minister wants to increase it to 50. This will increase the monthly electricity bill of a low-income family to 1500 rupees,” he said.

 Dhammika said the proposed revision will bring the electricity bill of a middle-class family to 8,000 rupees a month.

 “This is a disaster for the people. If this goes into effect, we will start a campaign to refrain from paying the the bills. There are seven million electricity consumers in the country, and we will unite them all,” he said.

 Dhammika added that the CEB recorded a profit of six billion rupees in October and if the CEB increased the price of electricity again, the EUA would take legal action.The CEB made a profit of six billion rupees in October. Electricity was produced using water, coal, and renewable sources, he said.

 “The average cost of electricity production was around five rupees. A unit of electricity was sold at around 32 rupees. The Minister says they are still making a loss. The Minister has no power to increase tariffs. The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) can only increase the tariff. The current Minister has said there is no need for a PUCSL. He wants to increase tariffs the way he wants, without oversight. We won’t allow that to happen,” he said.