Consumer Affairs Authority sues LAUGFS Gas over failure to maintain continuous supply

The Consumer Affairs Authority has filed a case against LAUGFS Gas PLC in the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court over the company’s failure to supply gas to consumers without interruption.

The case was filed on Thursday before Colombo Additional Magistrate Darshima Premaratne, Hiru News reported.

The court issued summons on the company, directing it to appear and present facts on 11 November, when the case is due to be called again. The authority has submitted its complaint to the court.

The basis of the action

The CAA brought the case over the company’s failure to maintain an uninterrupted supply of gas to consumers, in breach of Direction No. 86 issued under the Consumer Affairs Authority Act.

Hiru reports that the authority had previously instructed the company on the matter before going to court.

Context

LAUGFS Gas is one of Sri Lanka’s two main liquefied petroleum gas distributors, alongside the state-linked Litro Gas. The pair supply almost all domestic cooking gas in the country, which makes any interruption at either an immediate household issue rather than a purely commercial one.

The Consumer Affairs Authority is the statutory regulator empowered to issue directions to traders and to prosecute breaches before a magistrate.

Not reported

The filing does not say when the supply interruption occurred or how long it lasted, which areas or how many consumers were affected, or what penalty the authority is seeking. It does not give the terms of Direction No. 86, say when the earlier instruction was issued, or carry any response from LAUGFS Gas. No reason for the supply failure is reported.

Single source. A search of Ada Derana, NewsFirst, the Daily Mirror, EconomyNext, Daily FT, the Island and Colombo Gazette returned only coverage of the 2021–22 gas crisis — a long-running dispute involving the same regulator and the same two distributors, and a recurring-headline trap. None of it concerns this case. The Daily Mirror’s breaking-news listing carried no LAUGFS item at the time of writing, and Ada Derana remains blocked to this desk.