CEB overcharges consumers, hiding profits from PUCSL
View(s):By Bandula Sirimanna
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has overcharged a minimum sum of Rs.15,000 from a consumer during the past six months
submitting wrongful data on profit and financial status in the relevant proposal to revise electricity tariffs to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL).
Former Power and Energy Minister and MP Patalee Champika Ranawaka has urged the PUCSL to refund this money from the profit of Rs.120 billion gained from the previous tariff revision as at June 31 this year.
He made this request at a public consultation in Colombo this week on the second electricity tariff revision scheduled to be announced on July 15, after reviewing the public opinions.
In the previous tariff revision in March this year the CEB has resorted to the same practice of hiding accurate data pertaining to its (profit and financial status, he added.
At that time also the CEB has hidden profits amounting to Rs. 65 billion last year in the proposal which has been submitted to the PUCSL,
Mr. Ranawaka alleged.
For instance, the transmission and distribution cost last year was Rs. 70 billion, but this proposal estimated that it will be Rs. 145 billion for this year. The generation cost, which was Rs. 80 billion, is estimated to be Rs. 135 billion this year.
However, CEB has not mentioned actual data related to their profit that they earned last year, he said adding that an appeal was made to the PUCSL at that time by him to provide a 35 per cent relief to consumers.
But the PUCSL has given 22.5 per cent relief considering his request, he disclosed. In the present proposal, the CEB has not mentioned the Rs.120 billion profit gained from electricity bill payments of 7.5 million consumers, he pointed out.
Only rich families, 10 per cent of the population or 600,000 families pay high electricity bills for the usage of over 180 units each per month. The 25 per cent poorest of the poor families are not getting any relief from the tariff revision, he said.
Several representatives of electricity
consumers association, political parties and power and energy sector experts expressed their concern on the failure to provide and concessions for the industrial hotel, export and other private sector institutions from the proposed electricity tariff revision.
It has been revealed that the CEB is planning to reduce tariff for purchasing electricity from Rooftop Solar PV Systems according to new electricity price revisions. ax
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