The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has formally declared that additional costs arising from the ongoing coal procurement crisis will not be passed on to electricity consumers through future tariff revisions.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the regulator said only reasonable costs incurred for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity are considered when evaluating tariff revision proposals. The Commission confirmed that even in its most recent tariff decision, costs linked to the coal situation were not approved.
“Any extra costs arising from the coal situation, or other unfair expenses, will continue to be excluded from future electricity tariff revision proposals,” the PUCSL said, adding that the decision was taken unanimously.
The ruling is a significant consumer protection measure amid the wider coal procurement scandal that has dominated parliamentary debate for weeks. A COPE audit exposed Rs. 2.24 billion in efficiency losses from substandard coal imports, while a Presidential Commission has been ordered to investigate procurement irregularities dating back to 2009.
The PUCSL’s assurance comes days after the National System Operator submitted a 53% tariff hike request citing Rs. 40 billion in additional generation costs — a figure that now cannot include the coal-related losses. The no-confidence motion against Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody, defeated 153-49 on April 10, centred on the same coal crisis.
The decision effectively shields consumers from bearing the cost of procurement failures that led to the CID investigation into Lanka Coal Company.
