The revision of electricity tariff rates presented by the government has affected the poor dearly.
According to former Minister of Power and Energy Champika Ranawaka, the monthly electricity charges for the poor, who consume less than 60 units per month, will shoot up by more than 220 percent, while the electricity bills of large-scale consumers, who use more than 1000 units per month, will only be increased by 4 percent.
He pointed out that due to the revision of electricity rates introduced by the government in August last year, the electricity board is currently receiving revenue exceeding its total expenditure, including electricity generation, maintenance, and salaries.
In such a situation, they are once again making an attempt to revise electricity tariffs in an unfair manner to achieve a revenue target of 55 to 60 billion rupees.
Speaking at a press conference held today, Champika Ranawaka said:
In July, the income of the Electricity Board was 2,855 million rupees. It had increased to 34573 million rupees by the month of October with the increase in the August tariff rates. Accordingly, the total income in July was 20 billion rupees, and it increased to 34 billion rupees in October.
Generation expenses and salary of electricity board employees, maintenance works by July amounts to rupees. 41 billion, and by August it has decreased to 32 billion. By October, the cost will be Rs. 1 billion. It decreased by 29 billion rupees in November. According to the statistics, it is clear that this tariff increase is enough to cover the fuel costs, salaries, and other maintenance costs of the electricity board.
For example, the financial cost in the month of October is 3600 million rupees. It was 6442 million rupees in November. Therefore, even if it is taken as a separate matter, it is clear that the increased electricity bill in August has to some extent covered the energy cost and maintenance cost of the Ceylon Electricity Board.
Considering all these costs and other depreciation values, a 60 per cent increase in electricity tariffs is absolutely unacceptable. Before the increase in fees, the monthly income was Rs. 20 billion, which was increased to Rs. 35 billion. Now the income is Rs. 55–60, and that is going to increase three times. Is this increase justified?
If we consider the method of increasing the electricity price, the electricity bill for the very poor, who currently use 30 units, will be increased from 360 to 1300 rupees. That’s a 261% increase. This is the poorest group of people in the country, with 1.1 million. The electricity bill of those using 60 units will be increased from Rs 780 to Rs 2560, or 228%. Those are the poor people of the country who are 14 lakhs.
The electricity bill of those using 90 will be increased to Rs. 4430 from Rs. 1800, and the electricity bill of those using 1000 units will be increased by Rs. 69,000 to Rs. 71,000 by 4%.
