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Thursday, 30 December 2010 00:19 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Under fire over new electricity tariff, PUC defends itself

Under fire for proposing electricity tariffs which have been roundly criticised, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) yesterday defended its action as fair.

“We adopted an internationally-accepted fair and transparent procedure to identify the efficient unit cost of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

It is of no use to have a commission like this just to calculate electricity tariffs at required levels and to implement them. The tariffs can even be determined directly by the CEB or any other related State entity,” PUC Chairman Dr. Jayatissa de Costa told a media conference.

His encounter with the media came after President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday revoked the previous recommendation by PUC, keeping old tariffs unchanged for the first 120 units for small time users and households.

Dr. De Costa however said one of the main objectives of the PUC was to safeguard the rights of all the electricity consumers of the country.

“Similarly, all the licensees including the CEB have a lawful authority to recover their reasonable costs from the consumers,” he added.

“The PUC has the power to fulfil and ensure this right, and the commission is obliged to adhere to the Government policy on the determination of the electricity prices. Further, amidst the objectives of the commission, it envisages to enhance performance of the CEB and other licensees so that they will achieve breakeven point at least by 2015,” he said.

“It is obvious that achieving all these objectives simultaneously is very difficult,” he added.

According to him, during the past few decades, there was no specific methodology for the public to be convinced about the costs of the CEB, which is the main electricity producer and sole transmitter, holding 85% of electricity distribution in the island.

“We are not certain whether the public or even journalists received proper information about the real cost of electricity supply. As the regulatory authority in the electricity industry, one of the main functions of the PUC is to recognise such costs. In this endeavour, with the technical assistance of Asian Development Bank and the participation of the local expertise, the PUC achieved this goal successfully,” Dr. De Costa said.