PUCSL approves electricity tariff hike

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka has approved an 18% electricity tariff hike for categories consuming over 180 electricity units, targeting the second and third quarters of this year.

However, with the aim of minimizing the burden on the public due to this tariff revision, the government has provided written consent to the commission to grant a special subsidy of 15 billion rupees. Due to this government intervention, the new tariff increase will not affect the vast majority, nearly 95%, of the country's total electricity consumers in any way.

According to the new tariff methodology, there will be no increase in bills for consumers using electricity from 0 to 180 units under the domestic electricity consumption category. However, this new tariff hike will directly apply to those who consume electricity exceeding the 181-unit limit monthly.

With this revision, a consumer who uses 210 units monthly and previously paid a bill of Rs. 9,570 will see an increase of Rs. 1,760, with their new bill calculated at Rs. 11,330. Additionally, the electricity bill for a person consuming 240 units, which was Rs. 12,120, has increased by Rs. 2,210 to Rs. 14,330. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the monthly electricity bills for domestic consumers using 270 units and 300 units will increase by Rs. 2,660 and Rs. 3,110 respectively.