Sri Lanka’s state-owned electricity service providers are now offering domestic time of use (TOU) electricity tariff for cheaper charging of electric vehicles.
“During the off-peak hours only Rs.13 is charged per unit, which is a fair amount for the electric vehicle charging purposes,” a Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) statement said.
The off-peak hours run from 10:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m. Tariffs during daytime hours of 5:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. will be Rs.25 per unit and Rs.54 per unit will be charged during peak hours between 6:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.

The new tariff scheme is an alternative tariff system for domestic users who consume a three-phase, 30 A or above power supply.

“Those who wish to upgrade their customer category from the existing domestic category to TOU tariff should apply it from the regional area engineer’s office of their service providers (Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), Lanka Electricity Company Private Ltd (LECO)). Such customers should pay for the new meter which is required to support the TOU tariff,” PUCSL said. The PUCSL said that those opting for the new system would contribute in lowering peak time consumption and increasing off-peak consumption.

This would help balance the loads in the coal power plants Sri Lanka increasingly depends on. Stopping and restarting coal-fired plants between peak and off-peak times is time consuming and causes energy wastage.