Protest builds up against proposed tariff hike

• The Electricity Consumers Association General Secretary Sanjeewa Dhammika requested power consumers not to pay the increased bill

By Sandun A Jayasekera

An unprecedented and massive anti-government protest is building up across the country against the government’s move for a major power tariff hike for the second time in four months, the opposition, trade unions, the estate and industrial sector, the public and the private sector employees and the power regulator, the PUCSL said yesterday.  

 Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) Janaka Ratnayaka said neither the cabinet, subject minister, the CEB nor the government has the authority to increase power tariff and any attempt to do it by any other party was illegal.  

There are no corroborative factors to increase the power tariff right now as the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has recorded an operating profit since the power price increase in August 10. There is no global or domestic evidence either for a tariff increase at the moment. The clause h of paragraph 17 of the PUCSL Act No. 35 of 2002 clearly says that the PUCSL regulates tariffs and other charges levied by regulated entities where required by any industry. The violators are liable to pay a fine of Rs. 100,000 or 6 months in jail or both on conviction, Ratnayaka said.  

The Ministry, the cabinet or the government can take policy decisions but carry out regulatory revisions through the PUCSL. The PUCSL has not been informed about such thing up to now. It is extremely unnecessary or unfair to increase power tariff up to 2002% for some consumers and 400% for some others, he said.   Therefore, electricity consumers must not get frightened about another power price increase only because the government and Minister Kanchana Wijesekera want it. The PUCSL would never give its sanction to do it under the prevailing tragic situation in the country,” Ratnayaka stressed.   

The Electricity Consumers Association (ECA) General Secretary Sanjeewa Dhammika requested power consumers not to pay the increased bill.   The ECA also started to collect 6.9 million signatures around the country against the tariff increase from Matara on Sunday as a challenge to Minister Wijesekera who comes from Matara District.  

The ECA also participated in a Deva Pooja at Sinigama Devala to curse the moves to increase the power tariff. In addition, CEB Engineers Union, CEB Employees Union, almost all private and public sector and estate sector trade unions expressed their vehement protest.   General Secretary of the CEB Employees Union, Ranjan Jayalal while requesting not to pay  the increased electricity bill said CEB employees will not disconnect power of consumers who fail to pay the bill.   Meanwhile, senior vice president of the main opposition SJB and the chief opposition whip, Lakshman Kiriella said the protest campaign brewing up in the country against the much hated and much detested Ranil Rajapaksa regime will be the ‘Mother of All Protests’ in Sri Lanka since independence.  
“This country wide anti-government campaign could easily be the beginning of the end of the Ranil-Rajapaksa regime rejected by the nation,” Kiriella said.    “The current anti-government uprising no doubt will be stronger and virulent than the hartal in 1953, protest campaign in 1978 launched against the Indo-Lanka accord and the reign of terror campaign of the JVP in 1988 – 89 period as the entire country of 22 million people participate in it yesterday. Only, Ranil and Kanchana want the power tariff hike and no one else,” Kiriella emphasized.  

The SJB would seek legal redress if the government has the audacity to go ahead with the price hike of power despite anger and protest of all Sri Lankans.  

General Secretary of the SLFP, Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara said the short-sighted and illogical action of the government to increase power tariff would bring the death knell to an already collapsed industrial sector and unbearable burden to the millions of people.  

The SLFP also would go to courts against the price increase of electricity, Jayasekara noted.