Compensation payments for former Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) employees who took voluntary retirement during the utility’s restructuring began on May 15, NewsFirst reported, citing the Ministry of Energy.
The Ministry confirmed that a total of Rs.8.9 billion has been set aside for the disbursements, with nearly 1,600 employees who chose the voluntary resignation path expected to receive payments on Friday.
The disbursement follows Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka’s parliamentary commitment on May 5 that the first phase of compensation would be paid by May 15. Earlier reporting placed Rs.8.5 billion as the budgeted figure for 1,896 employees who exited under the voluntary retirement scheme when the CEB was dissolved and split into successor entities.
The CEB was unbundled into separate generation, transmission and distribution entities under the Electricity Act passed in 2024, with the National System Operator (NSO) taking over network operation. Employee retirements under the scheme were one of the most politically sensitive elements of the restructuring, prompting months of negotiation between the Energy Ministry, trade unions and Treasury.
The Ministry did not specify when the balance of the compensation will be released. Karunathilaka told Parliament earlier that 50% of total compensation would be paid by May 15, with the remaining 50% to follow.
