Electricity tariff revision protects users below 180 units, Samantha Vidyaratne says, with the increase affecting only 5% of consumers.
The electricity tariff revision has been designed to give maximum relief to most consumers, Minister of Plantation Industries Samantha Vidyaratne said, insisting that 95% of users will not be burdened by the latest increase.
The minister said that unlike previous governments, the current administration had taken steps to protect the vast majority of electricity consumers through the new tariff adjustment.
He pointed out that earlier electricity bill increases under past administrations had badly affected economically vulnerable families, self-employed workers, and small-scale business owners.
However, Vidyaratne said the present government had ensured that those sections of society would not be placed under additional pressure through this price increase.
According to the minister, no consumer using less than 180 units of electricity per month has been affected by the tariff hike.
He further stated that since 95% of electricity consumers in the country fall below the 180-unit monthly threshold, the revision places no burden on 95% of the people. The increase, he said, applies only to the remaining 5% of consumers.
Vidyaratne also noted that rising global oil prices create heavy losses for government electricity and energy companies when power is generated using fossil fuels.
He said these state-owned companies are public assets belonging to the people, and protecting them is therefore a national responsibility.
Accordingly, the minister said the electricity tariff revision had been implemented in a way that allows state institutions to be managed and preserved without losses, while also delivering maximum justice to the public.
