Energy Minister Anura Karunathilake said Sri Lanka’s electricity sector restructuring will increase renewable energy contributions and improve hydropower efficiency to reduce generation costs and lower consumer bills, in his most direct public framing yet of the rationale for the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) overhaul.
Speaking at a Friday (15) ceremony at the EDL D4 auditorium in Dehiwala to grant compensation to CEB employees who voluntarily retired under the restructuring programme, the minister said the unbundling was driven by efficiency expectations the government had set at the outset. “In restructuring the Ceylon Electricity Board, one of the main points we expected was to improve efficiency. Accordingly, by appointing new institutions that provide higher-quality services to consumers, we are working to fulfil the promise made to the people of the country during the restructuring,” he said.
A total of 1,898 employees received financial compensation at the event for opting into voluntary retirement under the restructuring programme, marginally higher than the 1,600-staff figure the Energy Ministry cited a day earlier when payments began. Deputy Minister of Power Arkham Ilyas attended the ceremony along with heads of the subsidiary institutions of the former CEB.
Karunathilake’s renewables framing comes as Sri Lanka manages a sharp increase in generation costs. The National System Operator (NSO) is seeking a 15% tariff hike for Q2 under the automatic tariff formula, with the revised filing reflecting fuel-cost pressures that the new minister has previously said could affect consumers indirectly even when headline tariffs stay flat. Hydropower output has been constrained by reservoir-level pressures earlier in the dry spell, with recent rainfall providing some relief.
The renewables-led generation framing also lands alongside larger battery and wind procurement decisions, including a 150MW wind/BESS Cabinet approval at Kondachchi and an IFC $18M loan for the Siyambalanduwa battery project.
Source: Newswire.
