By Shamindra Ferdinando

Top spokesperson for the ‘Samagi’ Opposition trade union Ananda Palitha has alleged that differences between the prices of petrol and diesel sold at Lanka IOC filling stations and those sold by CEYPETCO and Laugfs are one of the reasons for the disruption of countrywide fuel supplies.

Ananda Palitha urged newly appointed Energy Minister Gamini Lokuge to reveal why Lanka IOC had been allowed to increase petrol and diesel prices by Rs 27 and 17 respectively.

Responding to another query Palitha, a former employee of the CPC (Ceylon Petroleum Corporation) and CPSTL (Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited) said that the Lanka IOC had driven all its customers to the cash-strapped CEYPETCO and Laughs, thereby causing an unprecedented rush at service stations other than those managed by Lanka IOC.

 Both the government and the Opposition had conveniently turned a blind eye to the Lanka IOC twice increasing fuel prices on 06 Feb and 25 Feb with the consent of the then Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila, who exercised the regulatory powers in the absence of the mechanism proposed in terms of Act No 35 of 2002. The trade union activist emphasized that lawmaker Gammanpila could have thwarted the Lanka IOC move.

 Ananda Palitha challenged political parties to explain why the proposed mechanism couldn’t be established over the past 20 years.

 The Act enacted during Ranil Wickremesinghe’s premiership in 2002 provided for the establishment of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka to regulate certain public utilities, including petroleum, electricity and water.

 Ananda Palitha said that the national economy could suffer debilitating losses unless the Parliament ensured the setting up of proper mechanism to regulate fuel prices as soon as possible. The incumbent Energy Minister should exercise regulatory powers until then, the activist said, emphasizing that Lanka IOC was a highly profitable enterprise as its mode of operation was totally different to CEYPETCO.

 Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka Janaka Ratnayaka yesterday said that he couldn’t comment on the issue at hand. Ratnayaka said so when The Island sought his opinion on the vast difference in the pricing formula. Ratnayake said that though he served as the Chairman of the PUCSL, the petroleum sector didn’t come under his purview.

 A senior Central Bank official told The Island that the sharp differences between fuel prices at CEYPETCO and Laugfs and the Lanka IOC caused massive losses to the government. Pointing out that the Central Bank had asked the government to increase fuel prices, the official said that CEYPETCO couldn’t meet the country’s oil requirement under present conditions.

 Ananda Palitha said that Lanka IOC was in a stable condition to maintain the power pricing formula. However, Lanka IOC Managing Director Manoj Gupta has attributed the recent price increases to steep increases in international market prices and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Gupta commented on the Russian invasion on Feb 25, the same day LIOC revised its prices for the second time that month.

 According to the Opposition activist, he had retired in Oct 2018 after having served the CPC and CPSTL for 40 years and never believed a government could be so irresponsible. Declaring that the much touted agreement between Sri Lanka and India in respect of the Trincomalee oil tank farm was nothing but a sellout and betrayal of the country, Ananda Palitha claimed that Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader Gammanpila should accept responsibility for the current calamity. Ananda Palitha alleged that India couldn’t have negotiated such a one-sided deal even during UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe tenure as the Prime Minister though he was repeatedly accused of succumbing to Indian pressure.

 Ananda Palitha said that the inordinate delay in setting up the regulalatory mechanism in terms of Act No 35 of 2002, allowing Lanka IOC to decide petroleum prices and the agreement on the Trincomalee tank farm should be carefully examined. The then Energy Minister Gammanpila should never have been given the authority to negotiate the Trincomalee deal, Ananda Palitha said.

 Lawmaker Gammanpila has explained both in and outside Parliament how proper procedures were followed in negotiating the agreement on Trincomalee oil tank farm. Gammanpila told The Island that there were absolutely no basis for accusations and that he obtained the best terms for the country under the circumstances faced by the country.