JVP says govt. having done nothing to promote renewables last year slaps another tariff hike

By Chaminda Silva

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) must hold a public consultation on the electricity tariff hike, the joint-convener of the JVP’s National Trade Union Coordinating Centre (NTUC) Wasantha Samarasinghe said.

There is no point in the PUCSL asking the opinion of the Attorney General, he said.

“The PUCSL is supposed to be an independent commission. However, the Attorney General’s Department is an institution that defends the government,” he said.

Samarasinghe said the electricity tariff hike will adversely affect the country. “Not only will businesses collapse, the people will not be able to use electricity. The quality of life would drop and most of our human development achievements might reverse,” he said.

He said that already a large number of factories have closed down after the electricity tariff was increased in August 2022.

“With this drastic hike, our products will no longer be competitive. What remains of our industries will collapse,” he said.

The government had done nothing to boost electricity generation from renewables in 2022, Samarasinghe said. “The CEB has pushed for coal as a cheap alternative to diesel. However, as we know coal was not a sustainable alternative. There were those who warned of this 15 years ago and advised to switch to renewables. Nothing was done then, and nothing is being done now,” he said.