Electricity tariff cuts of 20% should be implemented immediately, as requested by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL).Backing up this claim, the chairman of the commission says he demands it because of the current rate reduction in fuel prices.
He stated that based on the tariff requested by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) on January 5, they estimated an electricity demand of 16,520 GWh for 2023, with CEB expecting a revenue of Rs. 722 billion from energy sales.
“However, the PUCSL forecasts a generation demand of 15,031.42 GWh in 2023.” Our demand forecast was validated by actual demand from January to April, as well as CEB’s lower demand forecast for the rest of the year.
CEB’s revised demand forecast for 2023 the demand is 15,377 GWh close to the forecast made by PUCSL had done early this year says commission’s chairman Mr Janaka Ratnayake. He further said this was the main rationale of their tariff recommendation which a limited tariff increase below 35%
“Given all these facts, the PUCSL demands an immediate reduction of 20% on electricity tariffs,” he noted.