Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera has refuted media reports of an electricity tariff hike, assuring that there will be no price revision on electricity.
Taking to Twitter, Minister Wijesekera stated that the government policy decision is to revise electricity prices biannually, in January and July every year.
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has planned for an uninterrupted supply of power islandwide throughout the year with no scheduled power cuts and currently full capacity of available power plants is in use for power generation, he revealed.
The Minister also provided details of the meeting that was held at the President’s Office yesterday with officials from the CEB and Irrigation Department.
Minister Wijesekera stated that options related to ensuring a continuous power supply with no scheduled power cuts and the maximum water that can be released for agriculture will be shared with the Cabinet of Ministers today.
Details related to the power generation for the next 12 months, the release of water for agriculture, hydropower capacity, and thermal power options available will be shared and discussed, he said.
Minister Wijesekera went on to state that a discussion to settle the dispute between the land owner and CEB to complete the Asian Development Bank (ADB) financed Polpitiya-Hambantota transmission line has been set for August 11 by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL).
The 150km transmission line connecting the southern province has come to a stop in the last 3 months due to a dispute over the government valuation for a 650-meter stretch of land the lines are connected through.
If the dispute is settled the work can be completed in 4 days. The CEB has already paid 2500 other individuals compensation on government valuation and completed the work in the 150 km stretch over those areas, he added. (NewsWire)