The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has submitted a formal request to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) to raise electricity tariffs, citing the need to address the financial burden incurred during periods of dry weather that affected power generation in the country.

CEB's General Manager, Eng. Dr. Narendra De Silva, announced that the request for an electricity tariff adjustment in October was originally scheduled for January but was brought forward due to unforeseen circumstances.

Dr. De Silva emphasized that the CEB had to shoulder additional expenses for power generation since it was unable to produce a sufficient quantity of hydropower this year. The initial projection was to generate 4,500 gigawatt hours (GWh) of hydropower, but only 3,750 GWh was achieved.

Consequently, an additional 750 GWh of electricity had to be generated from thermal power plants, leading to an increased financial burden on the CEB.

The PUCSL Chairman, Manjula Fernando, confirmed that the CEB's request had been received by the commission on Wednesday, September 28, and assured that it would be given careful consideration. The decision on the tariff increase request will be pivotal in addressing the financial challenges stemming from the adverse impact of drought on power generation in Sri Lanka.