A senior Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) trade unionist has accused Litro Gas Lanka and LAUGFS Gas of profiting from the April 5 LP gas price hike by selling existing inventory — purchased before the price increase — at the new, higher rates.
Ananda Palitha, Convener of the Samagi United Trade Union Force and the Samagi Joint Trade Union Alliance, said the two distributors were “making a killing at the expense of consumers” and that it was unfair “under any circumstances, to apply a new pricing formula to old stocks.”
On April 5, Litro raised the price of its 12.5 kg domestic cylinder by Rs. 775 to Rs. 4,765, while LAUGFS raised the same cylinder by Rs. 1,070 to Rs. 5,700. Both companies cited higher import costs linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the disruption of Gulf supply routes following Israeli strikes on Iranian petrochemical facilities at Asaluyeh.
Palitha said the simultaneous increase by both companies pointed to a regulator-sanctioned formula that allowed the new pricing to be applied to inventory purchased at lower rates. He extended the allegation to fuel suppliers Lanka IOC, Sinopec and R.M. Parks, claiming they had similarly benefited from re-pricing existing stocks.
He linked the accusations to broader power-sector mismanagement, citing the Lakvijaya coal plant failures that have forced the CEB to burn more than two million litres of diesel a day at alternative thermal plants — pushing fuel demand higher just as supply is restricted.
The allegations come days before the April 10 no-confidence motion against Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody and as gas-driven cost increases ripple through Avurudu retail prices.
