The Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva
Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva argued that the electricity tariff formula agreed with the IMF, based on the 2009 Sri Lanka Electricity Act and the 1969 CEB Act, must be applied within the law and cannot be altered arbitrarily. He said the Government should not include Rs. 14 billion in legacy debt or recover a Rs. 8 billion first-quarter loss through the next tariffs, contending that such recoveries are not permitted under the formula. He urged the Government to take an independent position and challenge the IMF where its demands conflict with the legal framework.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 First, we have an agreed formula with the IMF based on the 2009 Sri Lanka Electricity Act and the 1969 CEB Act. If the formula is law‑based, then the Government must tell the IMF that rules cannot be changed arbitrarily. Under the formula, they cannot legally load Rs. 14 billion legacy debt into the next tariff. That is legally and by fairness wrong.
¶ 02 Second, they cannot recover a Q1 loss of Rs. 8 billion over the next six months via tariff; anyone reading the formula can see that. We do not have to accept everything the IMF says blindly; we must have our own independent view and push back.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 20 May 2025 ·No. 1749010823009957 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 20 May 2025. No. 1749010823009957. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/25942