Increasing electricity bills from January 4 Will not go for power disconnections: Ranjan Jayalal

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama  

With the statement made by the Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera about increasing the electricity bill from January 4, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) United Trade Union Alliance has decided to refrain from disconnecting the electricity supply of people who are unable to pay the increased electricity bills.  

The convenor of the alliance, Ranjan Jayalal, said that it is not reasonable to further burden the public at this juncture. 

 
He said the average Sri Lankan will not be able to pay their monthly electricity bills if the proposed tariffs are enforced.   Therefore, the Alliance has taken the decision to refrain from entering the houses of  people, to disconnect their electricity supply.  

“People will assault us, and who will take the responsibility if something happens to our employees. The people should hit the minister and the government, not us,” he said.  
As a result, the government will be forced to rely on the Tri Forces to cut off power to homes, Jayalal said.  

“Even though the government is attempting to privatize the CEB, we will not start any protests as we cannot put pressure on innocent people,” he said.  
He also stated that the minister’s proposal to pay an allowance to low income families is impractical.