Hon. Ravi Karunanayake
Hon. Ravi Karunanayake questioned the rationale for raising electricity tariffs again after earlier reductions, arguing that the focus appeared to be on increasing revenue rather than reducing costs. He asked why battery energy storage system projects were limited to 10 or 15 years when a 20-year lifecycle funded by the private sector was feasible, and urged the use of clawback mechanisms to return more benefits to consumers from debt settlements. He also sought details on the impact of Cyclone “Ditwah” on CEB transmission and generation, and asked whether the Government accepted the need for firm generation through battery storage to reduce exposure to fossil fuel costs.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Minister, although tariffs were reduced, they are being raised again. Your sole effort seems to be increasing revenue rather than reducing costs, despite clear avenues to do so. On BESS, when a 20-year life cycle is feasible with private sector bearing full cost, why limit to 10 or 15 years? Also, you state Rs. 96 billion was used to settle debt in 2024; then use clawback to return more to consumers. Further, did Cyclone “Ditwah” adversely affect CEB transmission and generation, and to what extent? Do you now accept the need for firm generation through battery storage, minimizing fossil fuel cost impacts?
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Friday, 19 December 2025 ·No. 23115 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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/lk/speeches/16250
Cite as: Hon. Ravi Karunanayake. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 19 December 2025. No. 23115. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/16250