Minister of Power and Energy, Kanchana Wijesekara says that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) estimates 01 unit of electricity will cost Rs. 56.90 for an uninterrupted power supply for 2023.
The minister points out that the current average tariff is at Rs. 29.14 and the Deficit is estimated to be Rs. 423.5 Billion.
“There are 6,709,574 domestic consumers according to CEB billing data”, he revealed in a twitter message.
The number of consumers for 0-30 units is 1,460,828 and they pay Rs. 8 per unit, while 30-60 units has 1,683,172 consumers who pay Rs. 10 per unit, he pointed out.
60-90 units has 1,702,515 consumers and pay Rs. 16 per unit while 90-180 units has 1,559,131 consumers and pay Rs. 50 per unit. 180+ units has 303,928 consumers paying Rs. 75 per unit, he added.
Minister Wijesekara also emphasizes that the lower layers are heavily subsidized while the top layer of consumers pays over the average cost of a unit to compensate a part of the subsidy, and the balance subsidy is borne by the treasury.
“My personal opinion is that every layer should be Rs. 56.90 per unit and a direct cash allowance for low-income families”, he said.
