To regulate the country’s power sector, the government is planning to establish a new broad regulatory body. The Cabinet of Ministers during their recent meeting has given the green light to appoint a committee chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Power and Energy following a proposal presented by the Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera. The committee will present recommendations following their study regarding the formulation of a legal framework to regulate the power sector.
The decision to propose the formulation of a committee stemmed from the fact that, despite the import, refinery, distribution, and marketing of petroleum products—including petrol, diesel, kerosene, airplane fuels, and liquefied petroleum gases (LPG)—being implemented within the existing legal framework, there is a lack of a broad regulatory mechanism.
The Ministry pointed out during the cabinet proposal that since several private establishments are engaged in the import and distribution of petroleum products, the requirement for an independent, dynamic, productive, and efficient regulatory mechanism has been recognized. Such a mechanism is necessary to address the challenges of the sector, enhance the quality of the products, and safeguard the requirements of consumers, investors, and other stakeholders.
The government recently decided to provide more opportunities for private-sector investors to conduct business.
Acordingly four international businesses entered in the fuel retailing business in Sri Lanka. Three foreign companies China;’s Sinopec, United Petroleum, Australia & RM Parks of USA in collaboration with Shell Plc were given 450 filling stations islandwide. Some have already started their operations while the rest are in the process.
These companies will be allowed to establish 50 new filling stations apart from the current stations.
Each company will be allocated 150 Dealer-operated fuel stations which are currently operated by Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. These three companies will be offered a license to import, store, distribute, and sell petroleum products in Sri Lanka for 20 years of time.
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