Wires crossed in electricity bills

Following an outcry on social media and in the mainstream media, Co- Cabinet Spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena announced this week the Government was considering a concession of 25 percent reduction to electricity bills that had recorded a power usage between 0- 90 units during March, April and May.

This was after hundreds of complaints were lodged with the Ceylon Electricity Board ( CEB) and the Ministry of Energy over electricity bills that were delivered after two months amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The bills required payment to be made cumulatively.

But a calculation of the figures indicate the proposed 25 per cent discount for those using below 90 units will amount to Rs 200 on an average monthly bill.

This is because according to the electricity utility chart, the unit rate is Rs 7.85 from unit 1 to 60 units while from 60 to 90, the rate is fixed at Rs 10. A maximum bill is around Rs 800.

Now a committee has been appointed by the Ministry to study the issue and recommend to the Cabinet the next steps that need to be taken in this regard.

A frustrated electricity user remarked that this could be another cheap attempt by the Government to fool the people with this token concession when the total cumulative bill is thousands of rupees.