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Candlelight vigil planned to protest electricity tariff hike
Colombo, Sept. 8 (Daily Mirror) - The Electricity Users Association will stage a candlelight vigil on September 10 at 6 p.m., urging authorities to reduce electricity tariffs, Secretary Sanjeewa Dhammika announced.
Speaking to the media, Dhammika said the vigil will highlight several demands, with the main focus on lowering electricity bills and rolling back the Sahas Danavi power plant agreement.
He criticized the government’s recent announcement on tariff increases, saying, “The government had planned to raise electricity bills by 21 percent, but after media coverage, they revised it to a 6 percent increase.”
Dhammika also pointed out that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) posted profits of over Rs. 5 billion last quarter. “Given these profits, a 20 percent reduction in electricity bills is reasonable. The NPP government had initially promised a 30 percent reduction,” he said.
He further claimed that the government has not brought funds from Uganda and has failed to provide relief on electricity bills, despite CEB continuing to make profits. “Due to illegal agreements, the skyrocketing bills cannot be stopped. Previous governments followed fuel, but this government follows Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG),” he added.
Dhammika also noted that the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) lacks the authority to prevent tariff hikes. “The commission does not have full power over tariff revisions,” he said.
He accused the government of misleading the public by promising reductions in electricity tariffs.
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