The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake
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.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, you have not been courteous in facilitating questions. You directly ask under which Standing Order the point of order is raised and then dismiss it. My question to the Minister: The IMF has asked your Government to increase electricity tariffs. Since I do not have the data, I must ask broadly. The fifth tranche has not been received; therefore, the CEB says tariffs must be increased by 11.8 per cent. But the Public Utilities Commission says this is unfair. You plan to remove 2,600 employees under the CEB Act amendments, costing Rs. 11,931 million, and this cost is included in the tariff. Will 2,600 employees be sent home, and will consumers bear Rs. 11,931 million? Also, street lighting charges are to be paid by consumers, as per the CEB Chairman and Board. Is a tariff hike of 11.8 per cent justified? The dollar was Rs. 292 then and is Rs. 314 now—so will you add another 10 per cent—
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 5 February 2026 ·No. 23269 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 5 February 2026. No. 23269. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/12889