24 February 2024 12:00 am Views - 102
By Ajith Siriwardana
More than one million power disconnections have been imposed within the past year throughout the country, a parliamentary committee has revealed.
It was revealed when the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Alleviating the Impact of the Economic Crisis chaired by MP Gamini Waleboda met in the parliament complex on Thursday.
Chairman Waleboda said it was revealed that some 1.69 million power disconnections were reported last year.
He said the Committee instructed the respective officials to provide some relief to the consumers whose connections were disconnected, which included cutting down the re-connection fee by 50 per cent and to allow the outstanding bill to be paid in instalments.
He said instructions were also given to formulate a mechanism to provide new connections on credit basis and pay the full connection fee in instalments with the electricity bill.
The MP said the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), Finance Ministry and Central Bank, Department of Census and Statistics were present for the meeting.