The government’s new Electricity Bill will be taken up for the second reading debate in Parliament today, despite stiff opposition from MPs, trade unions and civil society groups.
The government has maintained that the new legislation will establish independent and accountable corporate entities, promote competition, ensure consumer protection, and facilitate the growth of renewable energy.
But why has the new piece of legislation met with so much opposition? Here’s a closer look at some key areas of concern highlighted by various critics of the Bill.
Constitutional inconsistencies
On Tuesday, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced in Parliament that the Bill titled ‘Sri Lanka Electricity’ had been ruled inconsistent “as a whole” with Article 12(1) of the Constitution by the Supreme Court.
While several other articles of the Bill were also deemed inconsistent with the Constitution, the Supreme Court suggested several amendments to enable the Bill to be passed with a simple majority in Parliament.
Concerns over Government’s approach
Sri Lankan opposition MPs have criticized the government’s rushed approach in passing new legislation, questioning why the passage of the Electricity Bill cannot be postponed.
They argue that more time is needed for thorough analysis and debate to ensure that the Bill’s implications are fully understood and addressed.
On Tuesday, legislators including the Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kirella, Wimal Weerawansa, and Dayasiri Jayasekara questioning the feasibility of making amendments through the Parliamentary process, requested more time to study the Bill.
However, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera, responding in Parliament on Wednesday, said that the Electricity Bill would be presented for debate on Thursday as scheduled. The Parliament Sectoral Oversight Committee on Energy discussed and approved the Bill and the amendments suggested by the Supreme Court, he said.
“Accordingly, the Electricity Bill will be presented tomorrow (June 6) for debate and approval of Parliament as scheduled. A simple majority of Parliament is required to approve the reforms bill with amendments,” the Minister said.
Why is the Bill Important?
According to the government, once approved by Parliament, the new electricity law will enable the unbundling of Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) services among many other reforms.
The reforms will also aim to improve efficiency, transparency, and accountability, and allow private sector participation across power generation, transmission, and distribution.
This process is especially important as it fulfills a key condition of Sri Lanka’s ongoing programme with the International Monetary Fund, which mandates the reform of state-owned enterprises, including the CEB.
While many agree that reforms to the electricity sector are necessary, politicians, trade unions, industry experts, and academics have identified several problematic areas in the new Bill, claiming these issues could even threaten national security.
Does the new bill protect consumers?
The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union has repeatedly charged that the new law has completely ignored the electricity consumer.
“The new Bill has done away with protections afforded to the consumer, while the country’s sovereignty has also been challenged. If this Bill is passed, the electricity sector will be completely politicized,” Dhanushka Parakramasinghe of the Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union said, noting that 14 cases had been filed by various parties challenging the Bill in court.
What are the Trade Unions saying?
For several months, trade unions representing the CEB have threatened to defeat the new electricity reform Bill even if it is passed in parliament. In April, trade unions staged protests in several parts of the country, charging that the new Bill offers no benefits to CEB employees nor electricity consumers.
“This Bill offers no benefits to CEB workers or to seven million CEB consumers. It only proposes to split the CEB into a number of companies and then offer them to foreign companies. Even if it is passed, we will defeat it outside parliament,” CEB Trade Union Alliance Convenor Ranjan Jayalal said.
Jayalal said that in the event the Bill is passed by Parliament, it would take six months to take effect. “In six months, there will be no Ranil or Kanchana or this government,” Jayalal said, referring to the President and Power Minister. He implied that neither would remain in power after the much-anticipated elections later this year.
National Security and integration with India’s energy system
Meanwhile, some politicians have charged that the bill is a blatant attempt to purchase electricity from foreign countries, enabling the integration of Sri Lanka’s energy system with India’s energy system.
Ahead of the debate on Thursday, members of the ‘Sarvajana Balaya’ alliance, including the National Freedom Front (NFF), Mawbima Janatha Party (MJP), Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU), and several other parties staged a protest near Parliament, calling on all MPs and the public to oppose the Bill.
They alleged that the Bill enables the integration of Sri Lanka’s energy system with India’s energy system, stating that this move threatens Sri Lanka’s national security. The new legislation will scrap existing provisions that safeguard the country’s energy security, they said.
“The Bill centralizes power to one person who will control several entities of the energy sector,” MP Udaya Gammanpila said, adding that this was yet another attempt to sell state assets to foreign countries.
MP Gevindu Cumaratunga alleged that the Bill seeks to sell state assets under the guise of investment.
Stakeholder concerns
Industry experts have stated that while the objectives of the reform process are commendable, the approach to achieving these goals is questionable.
Prof. Asanka Rodrigo of the University of Moratuwa, addressing a professional forum to discuss the new electricity laws, said that the new Bill will make way for significant and detrimental political interference in the energy sector.
“The objectives are good, but the methodology to achieve those goals remains questionable,” he said.
Who makes up the Advisory Council?
The Bill seeks to establish a National Electricity Advisory Council composed of seven members appointed by the subject Minister. Out of the seven members, three are ex-officio or government members.
According to the Bill, the other members of the council are appointed based on their experience and only require qualifications and experience from non-electricity backgrounds, Prof. Rodrigo said.
“One person is to be appointed with at least 20 years of experience in power system planning and operation. The other members in this council are appointed based on their experience, such as a SLAS officer,” he said, explaining that the majority of advisors as stipulated in the document, would be from non-electricity sector backgrounds.
“The CEO of the National System Operator is to be a person who has at least 20 years of experience in administration. With such an advisory council, how are we to expect advice on electricity policy? The majority of these members should be experts on electricity,” Rodrigo said.
Rodrigo stressed that this poses great danger as these members are capable of influencing the planning and operations of the electricity sector directly.
“The stated objective is to make the sector independent, but on the inside there is space for political interference. This document is 152 pages long, and the Minister has been referred to 74 times in the document. There are 10 occasions where the minister can give direct orders,” Rodrigo said, stressing that the Minister would need significant education and experience in electricity and policy to be entrusted with such responsibility.
Weakening the PUCSL as regulator
Echoing Rodrigo’s sentiments on the new law is dissident Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Parliamentarian Prof. Charitha Herath, who was one of the first to offer a detailed critique of the new law.
Sri Lanka’s power sector regulator, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), will be significantly weakened through this legislation, Herath said.
According to the Sri Lanka Electricity Act 2009, the PUCSL has the authority to provide advice to the Government on matters within their jurisdiction.
However, the recently gazetted bill has revoked these powers and transferred them to the National Electricity Advisory Council, which will be appointed by the Minister, Herath pointed out.
The Bill does not include any provisions to address monopolies, anti-competitive practices, collusion, abuses of dominant position, and merger situations that could impact competition in the electricity industry, Herath said.
The academic also highlighted that exporting low-cost renewable energy to other countries could deprive citizens of access to affordable electricity. (Newswire)
