Fixed rate for all Electricity consumers, Pay cash allowance for low income families – Minister

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) had estimated that a single unit of electricity would cost Rs 56.90 if the country were to have an uninterrupted power supply in 2023, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said.

“My personal opinion is that every layer should be Rs 56.90/- per unit & a direct cash allowance for low-income families”, Minister noted.

He said there were 6,709,574 domestic consumers according to CEB billing data and the current average tariff for a unit is Rs 29.14 and the deficit is estimated to be Rs 423.5 Billion.

The Electricity user breakdown as is follows:

• 0-30 units have 1,460,828 consumers & pay Rs. 8/- per unit.
• 30-60 units have 1,683,172 consumers & pay Rs. 10/- per unit.
• 60-90 units have 1,702,515 consumers & pay Rs. 16/- per unit.
• 90-180 units have 1,559,131 consumers & pay Rs. 50/- per unit.
• 180+ units have 303,928 consumers paying Rs. 75/- per unit.

He adds that the lower layers are heavily subsidized & the top layer pays over the average cost of a unit to compensate a part of the subsidy, and the balance subsidy is borne by the treasury.