Power and Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody told Parliament yesterday (22) that the debt-ridden and mismanaged Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) couldn’t be turned around within 10 or 11 months, citing decades of political interference and corruption.
“The CEB was destroyed over decades by giving free electricity to ministers and their cronies and taking on unsustainable loans. It cannot be fixed overnight,” the Minister said, responding to a question raised by SJB Puttalam District MP Hector Appuhamy.
Jayakody outlined the government’s plan to restructure the CEB under the recently passed Sri Lanka Electricity (Amendment) Act No. 14 of 2025 and the Sri Lanka Electricity Act No. 36 of 2024. The reform will see the creation of six fully government-owned companies, each handling specific operations currently managed by the CEB.
The new entities are National System Operators Pvt Ltd, National Transmission Network Providers Pvt Ltd, Electricity Generators Lanka Pvt Ltd, Electricity Distributors Lanka Pvt Ltd, Energy Ventures Lanka Pvt Ltd and CEB Employees Fund Pvt Ltd.
“These companies will be 100% state-owned and accountable to the Treasury. They are registered under the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007, but ownership will remain fully with the government,” the Minister clarified.
Raising a supplementary question, MP Appuhamy accused the government of attempting through the CEB to hike electricity tariffs recently, a move he claimed was thwarted by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL).
“The only reason electricity bills didn’t go up was because the PUCSL blocked the attempt. This goes against the NPP’s election promises to reduce tariffs,” Appuhamy said.
In response, Jayakody acknowledged that a 6.8% tariff hike had been proposed but was rejected by the PUCSL, a body responsible for regulating utility pricing.
“Both the CEB and the PUCSL are states institutions. The CEB may propose increases but PUCSL is there to regulate it. When we took office, there was already a proposal to increase electricity rates by 38%. Though some revisions have taken place, we are still under a 5% increase overall. The 38% hike has been completely shelved,” the Minister stated.
He reiterated that reforming a heavily politicised and financially crippled institution like the CEB was a complex, long-term process. “For years, the CEB was prevented from collecting dues from powerful individuals. Reversing that damage takes more than a few months,” he said.
By Saman Indrajith