President grants relief for over 2.5 m families

Over 2.5 million families who use less than 60 electricity units per month will be exempted from the proposed electricity tariff hike as announced by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the May Day Rally in Colombo, Ceylon Electricity Board sources said.

The beneficiaries amount to almost half of the total electricity consumers in the country. A concession has also been granted to those who use 60-180 units per month since a 25 percent reduction will be effected on their fuel adjustment charge.

The tariff on units is as follows: 60 units will be extended up to 61-66, units 90 to 91-96 and units 120 to 120-126. The CEB has already presented the new tariff scheme to the Public Utilities Commission. The revised tariffs will be effective from April 20, said PUC Chairman Dr. Jayatissa de Costa (PC).