May, 14, 2020
The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Lanka Electricity Company Private Limited (LECO) have taken steps to ensure fairness for electricity consumers in issuing monthly electricity bills and allowing a grace period to pay the monthly bills.
The guidelines prepared by the PUCSL set forth in this regard will be implemented by the CEB and LECO.
The guidelines were prepared to calculate the electricity bills according to the number of electricity units (pro-rata basis) received at concessionary rates, despite the delay in issuance of bills and to provide a sufficient time period to settle the electricity bills. Proposals made by CEB and LECO as well as complaints by some of the electricity consumers were taken into consideration when preparing the guidelines.
The CEB and LECO have been providing electricity to the electricity consumers continuously during the quarantine period even though the electricity bills were not issued and paid accordingly. The financial condition of these institutions needs to be restored in order to provide uninterrupted quality electricity supply in the future. The PUCSL state that the electricity consumers can support the financial situation of these organization by paying promptly for the bills that have already been issued for delayed months.
The following recommendations are implemented for preparing bills that come under quarantine curfew time period, to ensure maximum justice is provided for consumers.
Example of prorate basis of confirming the concessionaries that the consumer receives
If the electricity consumption is 120 units for a period of two months, the first 60 units will be charged Rs. 2.50 and the second 60 units will be charged at Rs. 4.85. Accordingly, the fixed rate for each month will be Rs. 60 totalling to Rs.120.
When bills are issued for two months or more simultaneously, the total amount applicable for each month must be communicated to the electricity consumer separately in two bills.
As per the above example, the fee for the first month will be Rs. 280.50 and for the next month, the charges should be Rs. Rs. 280.50. The grace period to pay the bills will also be communicated to the consumer.
Electricity consumer who uses up to 60 units per month will be charged as follows when issuing electricity bills for two months at once.
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