Govt. re-gazettes two-in-one Electricity Bill

By Chandani Kirinde

The Government has amalgamated the two Electricity Reforms Bills it presented to Parliament earlier this year and re-gazetted them as the Ceylon Electricity Board (Amendment) Bill, amending them in line with the Supreme Court determination which ruled that several sections of the previous Bills were unconstitutional.

The new Bill was gazetted last week in place of the Ceylon Electricity Board (Amendment) Bill and the Electricity Reforms (Amendment) Bill which were presented to Parliament in May this year but were put on hold due to the Supreme Court determination which ruled that certain clauses of the Bills were inconsistent with the Constitution and would need to be passed by a special majority in Parliament to be come law.

The new Bill contains amendments with regard to the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for CEB employees once the Electricity Utility Companies (EUC) are created for the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity in Sri Lanka, under the new law. Under the provisions of the previous Bill, an employee would have been forced to accept the VRS if the CEB decided his services were no longer needed but under the new Bill the employees would have the right to choose whether to stay in employment or retire early.

The Supreme Court had ruled that the section giving the right to the CEB to decide whether the services of an employee is no longer required in the previous Bill was in violation of the equal protection of the law afforded to all citizens by the Constitution.
The new Bill safeguards to ensure the EUC’s efficient functioning and ensures a smooth supply of electricity.