Reduced Electricity Bills from November

Wasantha RAMANAYAKE

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to implement the new tariff revision granting lower rates, benefiting domestic consumers and places of religious worship from November 01.

The Bench comprised Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva PC and Justices K. Sripavan and P.A. Rathnayake PC.

The Court approved new tariff revision proposals of the CEB with regard to domestic households and religious institutions. The Court further ordered the CEB to consider a pricing formula in the future tariff revisions submitted by an electrical engineer who sought to intervene in the proceedings to assist the Court.

The Court further directed the CEB to publish the proposals in the press indicating how they benefit from the new tariff revision over the current applicable rates.

Deputy Solicitor General Sanjay Rajarathnam who appeared for the CEB and its General Manager tendering the proposals submitted that in terms of the new tariff revision a domestic electricity bill would be on par with that of December, 2006 and much below the electricity bill of March, 2008.

The DSG also submitted that religious institutions would be levied lesser rates even lower than the relief approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in July.

Counsel K. Thiranagama for the petitioners tendering the Auditor General's report on the CEB submitted that the CEB was passing the huge loss it had incurred only to the domestic consumers and not to the business and industries.

Two Buddhist monks and a lay person filed the rights application in the Court complaining that the tariff revision effected by the CEB in March was unfair and arbitrary by the religious institutions and the middle class domestic consumers who use the average units of electricity in the range of 90.