Sri Lanka hikes household power tariffs by 15 per cent, power regulator says
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will increase its household power tariffs by 15 per cent, its power regulator said on Wednesday (June 11), a key step in the island nation's efforts to secure the next payout of a US$2.9 billion programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Industries will have a hike of 20.5 per cent while businesses in the tourism sector, a key foreign exchange earner for the island nation, will see their power prices rise by 20.2 per cent, K. P. L. Chandralal, the chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, told reporters.
The revised tariffs will go into effect from midnight.
Sri Lanka's new government headed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake reduced power prices by 20 per cent in January, which raised cost recovery concerns for the country's power monopoly held by state-run Ceylon Electricity Board.
An increase in power tariffs was a key prior action for Sri Lanka to implement to secure board level approval for a fifth tranche of US$344 million from the IMF.
Sri Lanka's economy crumpled under a severe foreign exchange crisis in 2022, but has rallied faster than expected, growing by five per cent last year following a bailout from the global lender in March, 2023. - Reuters
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