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CEB questions PUCSL involvement in stakeholder consultations on tariff revision
The Ceylon Electricity Board has requested the Energy Ministry to seek the Attorney General’s opinion on what it claimed were the Public Utilities Commission’s (PUCSL) “significant statutory, regulatory, and procedural violations” related to provincial stakeholder consultations on the electricity tariff revision.
The CEB says the commission was not fully constituted when it, on December 11, 2024, called for provincial public consultations regarding the tariff revision.
“…it is clear to us that no legally appointed Commission was in place during the nine provincial consultation sessions held,” states a letter sent by Acting General Manager (AGM) Wasantha Edussuriya to the Energy Ministry Secretary on Wednesday.
Therefore, the CEB has asked the Ministry to clarify with the AG if the stakeholder process was legal and in compliance with the PUCSL Act and the PUCSL-approved Consultation Procedures of 2019.
The government in November 2024 named five members to the commission. However, two of them declined. Two others named to fill those vacancies were then rejected by the Constitutional Council, leaving the slots unfilled. Two more nominees were again sent to the CC and are awaiting clearance.
The letter also states that PUCSL is yet to extend the six licences under which the CEB is authorised to generate, transmit and distribute electricity. These were first granted by the regulator in 2009 for six years and expired in October last year.
“Does CEB have the right and obligation to implement any tariff decision by PUCSL, in the absence of valid licences, which have not been issued by the PUCSL?” the letter asks. “Is CEB obliged to comply with tariff decisions in a situation where a fully constituted commission is not in force?”
PUCSL this week approved and recommended an average 20 percent reduction in electricity tariffs for all categories for the first six months of 2025, effective from Friday midnight. The regulator said its decision was arrived at after extensive public consultations.
The CEB had claimed only a 1.02% tariff reduction was possible, based on what it said would be “a marginal revenue surplus for the period of January to June 2025.” The CEB then proposed to continue with the existing—i.e., no reduction—for the first six months of 2025, arguing that even that forecast surplus was “within the error margin”.
There is resistance within the CEB, particularly from its top management, to a tariff reduction. However, the PUCSL recommended a 20 percent reduction after a detailed evaluation of the CEB’s submission. Based on these calculations, it also forecast a revenue surplus of Rs 44bn for the CEB in the first half of this year. And the commission has the necessary quorum (three members plus the chairman), sources close to the regulator said.
The Energy Ministry initially issued a statement saying it would implement the PUCSL directive after it was officially received and would get advice from the Ministry of Finance. However, Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody said soon afterwards that the government would reduce tariffs by 20 percent as recommended by the PUCSL.
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