Sitting of Thursday, 5 February 2026
Source: Hansard PDF (parliament.lk) ↗ ·No. 23269 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
Order of business
Speeches load per item. Summaries shown here are AI-generated and labelled; verbatim text is on each speech page.
- 1 Opening Opening: Speaker's Certificate on Universities Bill 6 speeches
- 2 Papers Papers Presented: Government Reports and Annual Reports 18 speeches
- 3 Committee report Committee Reports: Sectoral Oversight Committees 9 speeches
- 4 Petitions Petitions: Citizens' Petitions Presented 24 speeches
- 5 Oral question Oral Question: Private Electricity Generating Companies (Q.313/2024) 37 speeches
- Mr. Speaker - The Hon. (Dr.) Jagath Wickramaratne
AI summary The sitting moved to the segment for Oral Answers to Questions, with the Speaker presiding. No substantive policy position, proposal, or argument is recorded in the provided text beyond the procedural announcement of that agenda item.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Hon. Ravi Karunanayake raised Question No. 313/2024 to the Minister of Energy seeking details on private electricity generating companies operating from 2015 onward. The question requests information on the companies, their generation arrangements, and related particulars concerning private power supply to the national electricity sector.
Infrastructure Full speech → - The Hon. Kumara Jayakody - Minister of Energy JJB
AI summary In response to a question on electricity generation, the Minister of Energy provided details, with annexes placed in the Library, on generating companies, their capacities, units supplied to the Ceylon Electricity Board, and payments made from 2015 to date. He outlined measures to increase CEB generating capacity under the 2025–2044 Long-Term Generation Expansion Plan, including greater renewable integration, grid expansion, battery and pumped hydro storage, thermal plants where required, and studies to improve existing hydro stations. He stated that most planned additions are renewable, mainly solar and wind, while some thermal capacity is planned for system stability and energy security, and listed projected capacity additions from 2026 to 2030.
- The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Ravi Karunanayake objected that he could not ask meaningful supplementary questions because most parts of the answer referred to annexures that had not been made available. He requested access to the annexures before proceeding with his supplementary.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - Mr. Speaker - The Hon. (Dr.) Jagath Wickramaratne
AI summary The Chair invited the Member to ask the first supplementary question.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Ravi Karunanayake stated that he needed the relevant data in order to ask supplementary questions. He noted that, under the Standing Orders, it would be difficult to pose appropriate supplementaries without that information.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - Mr. Speaker - The Hon. (Dr.) Jagath Wickramaratne
AI summary Mr. Speaker called on the Leader of the House to proceed.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake JJB
AI summary Bimal Rathnayake noted that Ravi Karunanayake is an experienced Member of Parliament and stated that, since the Minister had already answered his question, he should proceed to his first supplementary question.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - Mr. Speaker - The Hon. (Dr.) Jagath Wickramaratne
AI summary Hon. Ravi Karunanayake was invited by the Speaker to ask a supplementary question.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Chaminda Wijesiri SJB
AI summary Chaminda Wijesiri argued that a Member must be given the contents of an answer in order to ask supplementary questions. He said the issue was procedural and not dependent on whether the Member had attended Parliament on a particular day.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Sajith Premadasa SJB
AI summary Sajith Premadasa raised a point of order about the handling of parliamentary questions where answers rely on multiple annexures. He said Members cannot ask meaningful supplementary questions if annexures are only tabled and published later in Hansard, and referred to a Parliamentary Business Committee decision that such annexures should be provided to the questioning Member before the question is taken. He asked why that decision was not being implemented.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake JJB
AI summary Argued that during Oral Answers, annexures should not be read in full because the allotted one hour would be consumed and limit the number of questions taken. He said further details could be pursued through the relevant Ministerial Consultative Committee, during Adjournment, or through COPE/COPA where public entities are involved, and urged adherence to the existing Standing Orders and time limits.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Ravi Karunanayake briefly intervened to add to a point made by the Leader of the House. The excerpt does not include the substantive issue he intended to raise.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Hon. Ravi Karunanayake questioned the Government over a proposed 11.8 per cent electricity tariff increase linked to the delayed IMF fifth tranche and CEB financial requirements. He asked whether the cost of removing 2,600 CEB employees, estimated at Rs. 11,931 million, and street lighting charges would be passed on to consumers, and whether further increases would follow due to exchange rate changes.
- Mr. Speaker - The Hon. (Dr.) Jagath Wickramaratne
AI summary The Chair asked the Member to be brief.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Ravi Karunanayake stated that he was raising the questions only because the Minister had not provided an answer. He indicated that he would not have intervened otherwise.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - Mr. Speaker - The Hon. (Dr.) Jagath Wickramaratne
AI summary The Speaker informed a Member that the allotted two minutes for a supplementary question had elapsed and called on the Minister to respond.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Kumara Jayakody - Minister of Energy JJB
AI summary The Minister of Energy stated that the supplementary question was unrelated to the main question concerning CEB generation. He said that if the matter is properly raised under Standing Order 27(2), the Government could provide a structured reply.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - Mr. Speaker - The Hon. (Dr.) Jagath Wickramaratne
AI summary The Chair invited Hon. Ravi Karunanayake to ask his second supplementary question.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake challenged the ruling that his matter fell under Standing Order 27(2) and objected to receiving only annexures after waiting 14 months for a response. He asked for details on electricity generation volumes and unit costs, linking the request to prior commitments to reduce tariffs by one-third and arguing that renewable generation should enable a 35–40 per cent tariff reduction for consumers.
- The Hon. Kumara Jayakody - Minister of Energy JJB
AI summary The Minister of Energy stated that the annexures to the response were extensive, each running to 9–10 pages, because of the breadth and detail of the question asked. He indicated that he could read them if time permitted and said the length of the material was not his responsibility.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - Mr. Speaker - The Hon. (Dr.) Jagath Wickramaratne
AI summary Mr. Speaker reminded Members that the time for the second supplementary question under Question No. 2 had expired. He stated that oral questions are limited to about six minutes each because ten questions must be taken within one hour, and that an entire hour cannot be allocated to a single Member.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - Mr. Speaker - The Hon. (Dr.) Jagath Wickramaratne
AI summary The Chair reminded the Member that a second supplementary question had already been asked and instructed that each supplementary be limited to two minutes.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Ravi Karunanayake asked the other member to clarify their point and noted that only two supplementary questions are permitted.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - Mr. Speaker - The Hon. (Dr.) Jagath Wickramaratne
AI summary The Speaker informed the Member that both supplementary questions allotted had already been asked.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Speaker procedural
- The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Ravi Karunanayake indicated that he would ask his second supplementary question. No substantive policy issue or proposal was stated in the excerpt.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Speaker procedural
- The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Ravi Karunanayake made a brief procedural remark, indicating that if the other member had responded amicably, he would have proceeded to ask the question in that spirit. He suggested there was no need to formally read out and pose questions under the circumstances.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Speaker procedural
- The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Ravi Karunanayake asked the Minister to respond on whether electricity consumers can expect a one-third reduction in bills. He cited data that 38 percent of electricity is coal-generated and questioned whether the lower calorific value of coal, reportedly below 5,300, is increasing thermal generation costs. He also referred to a statement by Minister Nalinda Jayatissa on renewable energy and Battery Energy Storage System costs, seeking clarification in that context.
- The Hon. Speaker procedural
- The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF
AI summary Ravi Karunanayake asked for clarification on a proposed measure’s impact on unit costs. He sought an estimate of how much the unit cost would fall and suggested that such a reduction should allow consumers to access lower prices with greater confidence.
Cost of Living Full speech → - The Hon. Kumara Jayakody JJB
AI summary Hon. Kumara Jayakody stated that the Government’s target is to reduce one in three electricity bills within three years by lowering generation and purchase costs. He said the CEB’s average generation cost had fallen from Rs. 37 to Rs. 29 per unit since the Government assumed office, a 22 percent reduction, and that the target is to bring it down further to Rs. 25 per unit.
- The Hon. Speaker procedural
- The Hon. Kumara Jayakody JJB
AI summary Hon. Kumara Jayakody stated that the Government is reviewing and addressing shortcomings related to a series of issues, noting that action has been taken up to the sixth point. He rejected references to a worst-case scenario and emphasized that the matter involves 25 shipments, contrasting it with the handling of shipments during the previous Government’s period in 2020 and 2021.
Public Finance Full speech → - The Hon. Speaker procedural
- 6 Oral question Oral Question: Liquor Licensing and Tax Revenue (Q.912/2025) 17 speeches
- 7 Oral question Oral Question: Paddy Lands Filling in Anuradhapura (Q.5/2025) 16 speeches
- 8 Oral question Oral Question: STD and AIDS Testing and Treatment Clinics (Q.6/2025) 6 speeches
- 9 Oral question Oral Question: State Land in Alankalagala and X-Press Pearl Disaster (Q.7-9/2025) 8 speeches
- 10 Oral question Oral Question: SLEAS Recruitment, Road Development, and Standing Order 27(2) Questions 14 speeches
- 11 Oral question Ministry Statements: University Vacancies and Educational Opportunities 29 speeches
- 12 Procedural Privilege: Threat by Vice Chairman of Akurana Pradeshiya Sabha 6 speeches
- 13 Procedural Procedural: Speaker Returns to Chair 1 speeches
- 14 Debate Debate: Institute of Real Estate Professionals, Container Depot Operators Licensing, and Shipping Agents Licensing Bills (Second Reading) 123 speeches
- 15 Adjournment Adjournment: Adjournment Questions and House Closure 10 speeches
- 16 Procedural Administrative Notices 3 speeches