News
Sectoral Oversight Committee exposes CEB costing trick to make huge profits
By Rathindra Kuruwita
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has significantly overestimated the cost of electricity production and transmission for 2024 and this is reflected in their estimated cost of production, says MP Gamini Waleboda, head of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Alleviating the Impact of the Economic Crisis.
The overestimation is around Rs 140 billion, Waleboda has said, adding that the CEB has recently presented the estimated costs for 2024 to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL).
“When we look at the cost of production, we see that it has been overestimated by about Rs 80 billion,” he said.
MP Waleboda said that the CEB had also increased the estimated cost of transmission. Over 98 percent of households were connected to the national grid, he said.
“If you look at the cost of transmission in the recent past, it has hovered between 55 and 67 billion rupees. The cost of Rs 67 billion was when we were dramatically expanding the coverage. Now, the network is mature. This year the CEB says the cost of transmission is Rs 132 billion rupees,” he said.
MP Waleboda said that CEB had also significantly overestimated the cost of financing. The CEB’s calculation ran counter to the principles of accounting, he said.
“They have calculated the interest rate using the rates that were prevalent at the height of the economic crisis. This has to decrease. The CEB has also calculated depreciation of assets that have been fully depreciated. This is imaginary expenditure. There are many instances of double counting. The CEB has no proper cost accounting mechanism and therefore officials and policy makers parrot out numbers that someone comes up with,” MP Waleboda said.
Waleboda said the minister of power and energy, Kanchana Wijesekera and senior CEB officials had taken the recommendations of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Alleviating the Impact of the Economic Crisis as a personal affront.
“We are actually trying to help him because the minister needs correct data to make the right decisions. The overestimation is around Rs 140 billion. In 2023, the CEB made a profit of over Rs 50 billion. It made a monthly profit of about Rs 15 billion rupees in January and February 2024.”
Waleboda said the CEB and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) were now profit-making enterprises. However, they were making profits at the expense of macroeconomic sustainability. The two institutions have gone beyond the breakeven point and are now making tens of billions of rupees in profit, the MP said.
“However, the social and macro-economic impact have been adverse. The education of millions of children is adversely affected when a million households are taken off the grid. The manufacturing and agricultural sectors are suffering because of high power and energy costs. To make the CEB profitable, we have undermined our macroeconomic stability, economic expansion, and social wellbeing,” he said, noting that the government must take a holistic view of the economy. The CEB is a part of a wider system and if everything else collapses, the CEB can only last for a short period, he said.
The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Alleviating the Impact of the Economic Crisis had met representatives of organisations that earned foreign currency and all manufacturers that produced for the domestic market, he said.
“We are not asking the CEB to continue supplying electricity below cost. We are asking the government to help our manufacturers and the poorest segments. If we ignore the tragedy that unfolds among the lowest strata of society, we will only be asking for a massive social crisis in the coming years,” Waleboda said.
The MP said the Central Bank (CBSL) could do a lot more to help the economy. The CBSL was implementing IMF policies, and losing its grip on the financial sector, Waleboda said.
“Financial institutions are paying a single digit interest for savings, but the interest rates for borrowing are in double digits, over 16 percent in many cases. The banks are making tremendous profits. The CBSL has reduced policy rates several times, but the banks have not passed the benefit on to borrowers. Not even state banks are reducing their loan interests,” he said.
However, the CBSL had played a pivotal role in controlling and reducing inflation which was around 70% in late 2022, Waleboda said.
“There is a lot of talk on making the CBSL independent. This should not mean it should carry out the IMF or ADB programme or act according to the whims of the few people on the monetary board. The CBSL must come up with a monetary policy that is sustainable in the long term and leads to economic development,” MP Weleboda said, noting that according to their calculations millions of US dollars that should be brought back to Sri Lanka are parked in foreign countries by exporters. “The country loses at least 1.2 billion dollars a year because of this, and this is around the income generated by the IT industry”, he said, “There should be an institution to keep a tab on these things.”
The Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology has issued an advisory at 11.30 pm on 05 January 2026 regarding a low pressure area over South-east Bay of Bengal Sea area.
The low-level atmospheric disturbance in the Bay of Bengal, to the southeast of the Sri Lanka has intensified into a low-pressure area.
Hence, showery condition over the island, particularly
in the Northern, North-Central, Eastern, Uva and Central provinces is expected to enhance from January 8th.
The Meteorological Department is constantly monitoring the behavior of the system.
The general public are requested to be attentive to the future forecasts and bulletins issued by the Department of Meteorology in this regards.
Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath yesterday (05) told a media conference at his Ministry that the UN should deal with the US for violating international law.
Herath, who is also a senior member of the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) party’s National Executive Council, in addition to being a member of the JVP politburo, emphasised that member states couldn’t violate UN Charter and international laws.
The Minister said so when The Island sought the government’s position on the abduction of legally elected Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a lightning raid carried out amidst heavy air strikes on that country. We raised the issue at hand pointing out that there were persistent allegations regarding US and Indian interventions in the 2022 regime change operation here and that the NPP finalised defence agreements with Washington and New Delhi.
Minister Herath said that Sri Lanka backed the ongoing UN Security Council bid to deal with the developing situation in Venezuela.
Herath was flanked by Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra and Deputy Tourism Minister Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe.
Minister Herath said that the UN Security Council was scheduled to take up this issue today. The US is one of the five members of the UN Security Council.
In terms of the UN Charter, UN members are to refrain from the “use of force” against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. Another permanent member of the UN Security Council, France, broke ranks with the Western block to condemn US action. France unequivocally declared that the US operation was a “violation of sovereignty.
Minister Herath didn’t respond to the query whether he discussed the issue at hand with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
While pointing out that Sri Lanka had been subjected to foreign interventions, The Island sought the position the JVP in respect of US President Donald Trump threatening to move against Mexico, Cuba and Colombia as the party always took a strong stand against US actions. Declaring that his response would be for the government and not the JVP, Minister Herath said that there was a way to deal with situations through the UN.
Minister Herath strongly defended recently signed agreements with India and US pertaining to defence. Stressing that both agreements were beneficial, Minister Herath pointed out that they weren’t defence agreements but security cooperation arrangements.
The US and Sri Lanka signed a Defence Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in November 2025, formalising defence cooperation under the State Partnership Programme (SPP) with the Montana National Guard. The MoU with India was signed in April, 2025. It was among seven MoUs.
Referring to devastating Cyclone Ditwah, the Minister said that India provided material support under the MoU signed in April whereas the US provided 10 helicopters to the SLAF recently.
Responding to a query on US-Sri Lanka tariff negotiations, Minister Herath said that about 95% of the negotiations have been finalised.
At the onset of the briefing, Minister Herath and Deputy Ministers Prof. Ranasinghe and Arun Hemachandra explained how the tourism sector and expatriate Sri Lanka work force contributed to the national economy.
Referring to Central Bank figures, they declared that tourism had brought in USD 3.2 bn whereas expatriate workers contributed USD 7.19 bn up to November last year. Once the Central Bank made available December figures it could reach USD 7.8 bn, they said. Tourism and expatriate work force together brought in as much as USD 11.6 bn, they declared, expressing hope 2026 would definitely be better.
Although the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah caused concerns that it may cause a significant drop in tourist arrivals, a steady flow of visitors paved the way for a comfortable 15% increase in arrivals by end of 2025, they said.
Minister Herath said that the government was happy that the country recorded the highest number of tourist arrivals this year.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath yesterday said that the government would announce its decision on the ban on foreign research vessels entering Sri Lankan waters.
Addressing the media at the Foreign Ministry, Minister Herath, in response to a query, said that they were in the process of addressing the issue.
Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe declared a moratorium on the entry of foreign research vessels during 2004. Although the NPP government, in December, 2004, declared its position would be made known soon, the decision was not taken during last year. Wickremesinghe took that decision under intense Indian and US pressure to deny entry of Chinese research vessels (SF)
Showers about 100 mm are likely at some places in Uva province and in Nuwara-Eliya, Matale, Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa and Ampara districts
Advisory for low pressure area over South-east Bay of Bengal Sea area
US raid on Venezuela violation of UN Charter and intl. law: Govt.
Ban on foreign research vessels: FM promises decision within two months
Broad support emerges for Faiszer’s sweeping proposals on long- delayed divorce and personal law reforms
US seeking to rob Venezuela resources: SLPSC
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