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| Sunday, 26 June 2005 |
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Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Call to expedite power sector reforms by Hiran H.Senewiratne The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has called upon the government to expedite power sector reforms and to implement the proposed power projects,to avert a major power crisis in the country. Without proper structural changes in the power sector, no independent regulatory body can measure the viability of the entity, PUCSL Director General Prof Priyantha Wijayatunga said. The power sector reforms would separate power generation, transmission and distribution into different entities/companies to provide an efficient and effective service to the public.In this connection the Ceylon Electricity (CEB) plays a major role. However it has been running at a loss for some time, he said. The CEB is a fully owned government organisation and it was unable to take prompt decisions for the betterment of the sector. Under the power sector reforms the CEB will be unbundled or separated into five companies. This would subject the CEB to a proper regulatory and monitoring process to make a viable entity by the PUCSL, Prof Wijayatunga said. At present the CEB's debts amount to Rs 84 billion, therefore power sector reforms are a pre requisite to make it a viable organisation, he said. He said that once the CEB is unbundled the PUCSL could monitor them to increase the efficiency in all five entities. The Director General said that when the restructuring comes into effect the cost reflective pricing strategy will be introduced to consumers, which will be economical in the long run. He said that once the CEB is restructured the cost of power will not be increased. At present, the CEB is not competitive enough to make policy regulatory and operational decisions since it is a government body. The PUCSL was set up in 2003 under a Parliamentary Act to regulate electricity and power sectors in the country.At present it has not been empowered to do so since the PUCSL will be fully operational once the power sector reforms are introduced. |
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