22 December 2022 09:22 am
By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama
There should be a definite increase in electricity tariffs beginning in January in order to purchase the required coal shipments for the month, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said.
Accordingly, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) should provide Rs.38.45 billion for January to purchase coal.
Addressing the media, Kanchana said that at the current tariff rates, the CEB will be able to collect a maximum of Rs. 32 billion per month, which is not sufficient for coal purchases. With the increase in the electricity tariff, it will be easier to provide a continuous power supply and provide electricity at the lowest possible cost.
A committee will be appointed to determine the new electricity unit prices. Later, the rates will be handed over to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) to implement the procedure legally, he said.
However, it has been proposed to revise the electricity tariff twice a year, the minister added.
Meanwhile, the minister assured that there would be no 10-hour power cuts next year, as claimed by the CEB Engineers Union President.
Addressing the media, he rejected the claim made by the CEB Engineers Union and said that legal action will be taken against the said TU over the false statement. The statement made by them was “baseless and completely false, he said.
“Therefore, I have instructed the CEB Chairman, and the Ministry Secretary to take legal action against the Union’s President based on instructions from the Attorney General. A trade union should have discipline. It cannot act like a terrorist group,” he said.
“According to information provided by CEB officials, it was proposed to shut down three units of the Lakvijaya Power Plant on three different schedules next year,” he said.
Moreover, the Minister said that there will be no power cuts on December 24, 25, 26, 31 and January 1 in view of the holiday season.
The minister also said that the ministry had entered the procurement process to purchase the required coal shipments. Accordingly, 12 coal shipments will be received by the country under the old tender suppliers, and another 21 shipments will be received under the two new tender suppliers.
Five coal shipments have already been received and unloaded, and the sixth shipment will arrive on Monday or Tuesday.