COLOMBO, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government on Sunday reiterated that it intends to bring down electricity tariffs over the next three years by lowering power generation costs, even as the national utility has sought a price revision for the upcoming quarter, Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror reported.
Anil Jayantha Fernando, minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, said electricity pricing remains tied to a cost-recovery framework, meaning that end-user tariffs reflect underlying generation expenses. He said the administration's priority is to address those cost drivers over the medium term rather than rely solely on periodic tariff changes.
Temporary fluctuations in power tariffs might occur, Fernando said, noting that shifts in the country's energy mix can directly affect production costs and, in turn, retail prices.
He said a policy mechanism is already in place to shield low-income households and specific categories such as religious institutions by offering electricity at rates below actual generation costs.
The remarks were made as Sri Lanka's state-owned utility Ceylon Electricity Board awaits regulatory review of its latest quarterly tariff proposal. The utility has requested a 13.56 percent increase for the April to June 2026 period in a submission to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka. ■