COLOMBO (NewsRadio); The Ceylon Electricity Board United Trade Union Alliance has demanded the authorities to make public the new proposal to increase the electricity tariffs.
Convener of the union Ranjan Jayalal said the people need to know as to what percentage the electricity tariffs will be increased.
He said if the government fails to make an announcement on the matter by noon today, they will rally the people against the proposed increase.
Meanwhile, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has refused to accept the proposed electricity tariff hike.
Chairman of the PUCSL Janaka Ratnayake said he cannot accept the proposed increase since the Ceylon Electricity Board is not incurring massive losses as claimed and that the proposal has been formulated based on incorrect values.
Speaking to media, Janaka Ratnayake claimed that the ordinary tax policy of the country has been violated when taking the decision to increase the electricity tariff.
He also noted that a sum of Rs.35 billion is indirectly leaving the CEB at present and the responsible officials have failed to manage the funds of the board.
Chairman of the PUCSL Janaka Ratnayake added that the calculation methods and the estimates are also inaccurate in the proposal.
He is of the view that the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka has full authority to reject the proposal and declare that the electricity tariff hike has been proposed based on incorrect values.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet of Ministers yesterday approved a proposal to implement a cost-reflective electricity tariff formula to increase tariffs.
The Minister of Power and Energy presented the proposal.
However, future measures are expected to be determined after the proposal is tabled before the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka.
