Single phase electricity customers to get ToU tariff

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has approved a time based optional tariff for the single phase domestic consumers, which was earlier limited only for the consumers who have three phase connections and consuming 30A or above, the PUCSL said.

The government recently directed PUCSL to be the regulator for the Electric Vehicle (EV) charging industry through a Cabinet decision with a view to ensure the rights of EV users are protected.

The PUCSL said the Time of Use (ToU) tariff was identified as it would benefited the domestic users and aims to demote power usage during peak hours and promote power usage during off peak hours.

According to the introduced ToU, a consumer will be charged only Rs.13 per unit during off peak hours (2230 - 0530 hrs), Rs.25 per unit during the day (0530 - 1830 hrs) and Rs.54 per unit during peak (1830 - 2230 hrs). A monthly fixed charge of Rs.540 will also be applied to the ToU consumer.

The decision came into light sighting the observation of an increasing fleet of electric vehicles (EV) in the country and the increase of the peak demand on account of their charging load it said.

Speaking to Daily Mirror, PUCSL Assistant Director (Corporate Communication) Anushika Kamburugamuwa said the consumers are eligible to the ToU tariff after a written request made to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the Lanka Electricity Company (Pvt) Ltd., (LECO).

She said the CEB studies undertaken by western utilities have found that uncontrolled natural consumer behaviour for vehicle charging invariably contributes to the evening peak.

Meanwhile, PUCSL Director General Damitha Kumarasinghe said considering the facts of energy efficiency and environmental friendliness, a big wave has been created by people in moving towards electric vehicles around the world, including Sri Lanka.

“The extension of ToU tariff to the single phase domestic users' plans to encourage energy efficiency and will benefit by the EV users in Sri Lanka, where they can charge their vehicles at a lower cost,” he said.

He further said a large volume of consumers have the option of ToU Tariffs and through the process, the peak load demand could be shifted to off-peak helping to implement the demand-based management initiatives as well. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)