Petroleum, lubricants: PUCSL introduces new system to handle grievances

The Public Utility Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has set up a mechanism to handle complaints and settle disputes in the petroleum and lubricants industry.

The PUCSL and the Ministry of Petroleum jointly introduced a statement of consumer rights and obligations, as well as a system to handle complaints and resolve disputes.

Minister of Energy, udaya Gammanpila said the public has raised concerns about substandard petrol, kerosene, and diesel for the past few months because they were unsure of who to complain to and who is in charge of overseeing the quality of these products.

He said because PUCSL is known as an independent regulatory body, passing over the task of quality control to the PUCSL will create a win-win situation for both the public and the petroleum service provider.

Director-general of PUCSL, Damitha Kumarasinghe added that the submission and settlement of complaints regarding petroleum and lubricants will be processed in two stages.

“The initial stage would be to settle complaints through service provider intervention.

However, if there is a disagreement, the second stage would be to find a solution through mediation by the service provider and perhaps the appointed regulator,” he said.

As a result, the PUCSL and the Ministry of Energy on Wednesday, December 1 made public the two statements detailing the dispute resolution method, as well as the paperwork that the consumer and the petroleum service provider would need to fill out.