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CEB trying to recover loss of Rs 32 bn during drought by increasing electricity tariffs

Published

2 years ago

2023/10/7

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) wants to recover about 32 billion that the institution lost through the year, within the next three months, with a tariff hike, K.A. Noel Priyantha, Deputy General Manager (Business & Operational Strategy) said in a televised interview.

“On 15 February, 2023, we got a tariff increase. So for 45 days in 2023, we only got the 2022 tariffs. In June 2023, we proposed a three percent reduction of the tariff, but the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) recommended a 14 percent cut. We lost about 32 billion rupees in expected revenue because of these two reasons,” he said.

Priyantha said that the CEB had issues with PUCSL in the recent past and that it is only now that the relationship between the two institutions has improved.

“We expected rains, but there was a dry patch, and we had to release water from Samanalawewa for agriculture. We could produce less electricity from hydropower than we expected. We now need to produce electricity using fossil fuels. That costs more, and we can’t borrow now, so we need to go for a tariff increase. The IMF has insisted on cost-reflective pricing. We are trying to recover the 32 billion we have lost with the tariff hike,” he said.

The DGM said that the CEB only has three months to achieve its revenue targets. If PUCSL had only approved a three percent tariff reduction, there would have been no need to increase tariffs by a significant percentage.

“The CEB spends 2.80 rupees to produce a unit of electricity, using hydropower. The CEB is allowed to revise tariffs once every six months, but diesel prices are revised once a month. The average cost of a unit of electricity now is about 44 rupees,” he said.

Priyantha said they have forwarded two proposals to the CEB. One suggestion is to increase the tariff for a unit of electricity by eight rupees for all consumers. The other is a 22 percent tariff hike across the board, he said.

A few years ago, the CEB could have purchased a unit of electricity, generated by renewable sources, for around 22 rupees, he said. Unfortunately, some elements at the CEB were against local businessmen making money, and the solar power industry is now on the verge of collapse, Priyantha said.

“Moreover, we have not paid renewable energy producers in eight months. I always bring this issue up and some progress has been made. We are making some big investments. In Mannar, a 500 megawatt wind plant is coming up,” he said.

The CEB is also making space for a 200 megawatt solar power park. One of the main problems with renewable energy is the need to establish extremely costly transmission lines, he said.

“It doesn’t make sense to have a 10-megawatt renewable energy project. At least 100 megawatts need to be produced to make the cost of the transmission line profitable,” he said.

All solar farms connect to a specific point on the electrical grid, and that point is called the “point of interconnection,” or POI. The POI is different for utility-scale versus community solar scale projects, he said.

A community solar project is smaller than a utility-scale project. The project size is measured in terms of capacity. Community solar projects are typically 10 MW or smaller. These projects almost always connect to a three-phased distribution line. A distribution line is conceptually the same as a transmission line but moves electricity at a much lower voltage. A distribution line must be within about 1.6 kilometers of your property (or preferably much less) to make interconnection cost-effective.

Utility-scale projects connect by either connecting directly to a substation or tapping a transmission line (69 kV or higher).

Unless the solar farm is right next to a transmission line or substation, a dedicated transmission line called a generation tie (“gen-tie”) will need to be built. These gen-ties cost approximately one million dollars per 1.6 kilometers to construct, he said.

CEB Senior Engineers’ Association (CEBSEA) Spokesperson Engineer Nandika Pathirage said that reservoirs are receiving rain. On average, the water levels are at about 43 percent, and about 25 giga watt hours of electricity can be produced, he said.

“We only use about 11 gigawatt-hours of electricity. Now we only produce 40 percent of our electricity needs using fossil fuels,” he said.

Pathirage, however, denied claims that the PUCSL has recommended a 14 percent tariff reduction when the CEB has demanded only three.

“PUCSL decided based on the CEB data. When we asked PUCSL, they said that they, in fact, only gave what the CEB asked for. However, it is obvious that there is a cash flow issue now, and the CEB has now asked for a 22 percent tariff hike,” he said.

Pathirage said that the CEB management is of the view that they will not revise tariffs once the PUCSL approves the 22 percent tariff hike.

“We have received less rain fall than expected. The lowest probably since 2018. However, we expect that in the coming months, the north-eastern monsoon will fill up the reservoirs,” he said.

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Related Topics:K.A. Noel Priyantha The Ceylon Electricity Board

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Financial contributions received for ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund

Published

20 hours ago

2025/12/22

Priyan

The Government’s ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, established to provide relief and support to communities affected by Cyclone Ditwah, continues to receive financial contributions on a daily basis.

Accordingly, the Containers Transport Owners Association made a financial contribution of Rs. 1.5 million, while the Association of SriLankan Airlines Licensed Aircraft Engineers contributed Rs. 1.35 million to the Fund.

The respective cheques were formally presented to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, at the Presidential Secretariat on Friday (19).

The occasion was attended by W. M. S. K. Manjula, Chairman of the Containers Transport Owners Association, together with Dilip Nihal Anslem Perera and Jayantha Karunadhipathi.

Representing the Association of SriLankan Airlines Licensed Aircraft Engineers were Deshan Rajapaksa, Samudika Perera and Devshan Rodrigo handed over the cheque.

News

UNICEF representatives and PM discuss rebuilding schools affected by the Disaster

Published

21 hours ago

2025/12/22

Priyan

A meeting between Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and a delegation of UNICEF representatives was held on Saturday, (December 20) at the Prime Minister’s Office.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister explained the measures taken by the Government to ensure the protection of the affected student community and to restore the damaged school system, as well as the challenges encountered in this process.

The Prime Minister stated that reopening schools located in landslide-prone areas would be extremely dangerous. Accordingly, the Government is focusing on identifying such schools and relocating them to suitable locations based on scientific assessments.

The Prime Minister further noted that financial assistance has been provided to students affected by the disaster, enabling parents to send their children back to school without an additional financial burden. Emphasizing that school is the safest place for children after their homes, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that the school environment would help restore and improve students’ mental well-being

The Prime Minister also highlighted that attention has been given to several key areas, including the relocation of disaster-affected schools, restoration of school infrastructure, merging and operating certain schools jointly, facilitating teaching and learning through digital and technological strategies, and providing special transportation facilities. She emphasized that the Government is examining these issues and is committed to finding long-term solutions.

The UNICEF representatives commended the Government’s commitment and the initiatives undertaken to restore the education sector and assured their support to the Government. Both parties also discussed working together collaboratively on future initiatives.

The meeting was attended by the UNICEF representatives to Sri Lanka Emma Brigham, Lakshmi Sureshkumar, Nishantha Subash, and Yashinka Jayasinghe, along with Secretary to the Ministry of Education Nalaka Kaluwewa, Director of Education Dakshina Kasturiarachchi, Deputy Directors Kasun Gunarathne and Udara Dikkumbura.

(Prime Minister’s Media Division)

News

NMRA laboratory lacks SLAB accreditation

Published

22 hours ago

2025/12/22

Thilina Walpola

Dr. Sanjeewa

Drug controversy:

“Setting up state-of-the-art drug testing facility will cost Rs 5 billion”

Activists call for legal action against politicians, bureaucrats

Serious questions have been raised over Sri Lanka’s drug regulatory system following revelations that the National Medicines Regulatory Authority’s (NMRA) quality control laboratory is not accredited by the Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB), casting doubt on both the reliability of local test results and the adequacy of oversight of imported medicines.

Medical and civil rights groups warn that the issue points to a systemic regulatory failure rather than an isolated lapse, with potential political and financial consequences for the State.

Chairman of the Federation of Medical and Civil Rights Professional Associations, Specialist Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, said the controversy surrounding the Ondansetron injection, which was later found to be contaminated, had exposed deep weaknesses in drug regulation and quality assurance.

Dr. Sanjeewa said that the manufacturer had confirmed that the drug had been imported into Sri Lanka on four occasions this year, despite later being temporarily withdrawn from use. The drug was manufactured in India in November 2024 and in May and August 2025, and imported to Sri Lanka in February, July and September. On each occasion, 67,600 phials were procured.

Dr. Sanjeewa said the company had informed the NMRA that the drug was tested in Indian laboratories, prior to shipment, and passed all required quality checks. The manufacturer reportedly tested the injections against 10 parameters, including basic quality standards,

pH value, visual appearance, component composition, quantity per phial, sterility levels, presence of other substances, bacterial toxin levels and spectral variations.

According to documents submitted to the NMRA, no bacterial toxins were detected in the original samples, and the reported toxin levels were within European safety limits of less than 9.9 international units per milligram.

Dr. Sanjeewa said the credibility of local regulatory oversight had come under scrutiny, noting that the NMRA’s quality control laboratory was not SLAB-accredited. He said establishing a fully equipped, internationally accredited laboratory would cost nearly Rs. 5 billion.

He warned that the failure to invest in such a facility could have grave consequences, including continued loss of life due to substandard medicines and the inability of the State to recover large sums of public funds paid to pharmaceutical companies for defective drugs.

“If urgent steps are not taken, public money will continue to be lost and accountability will remain elusive,” Dr. Sanjeewa said.

He added that if it was ultimately confirmed that the drug did not contain bacterial toxins at the time it entered Sri Lanka, the fallout would be even more damaging, severely undermining the credibility of the country’s health system and exposing weaknesses in health administration.

Dr. Sanjeewa said public trust in the health sector had already been eroded and called for legal action against all politicians and public officials responsible for regulatory failures linked to the incident.

by Chaminda Silva ✍️