CEB engineers' union warns of economic fallout from new power sector restructuring

The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers' Union (CEBEU) has issued a stark warning that the government's sweeping power sector restructuring, under the Sri Lanka Electricity Act No. 36 of 2024, could unleash serious economic and operational risks — destabilising the state utility, burdening consumers, and discouraging investor confidence in the long run.

- BY IFHAM NIZAM

CEBEU Executive Comittee Member, Eng. Dhanuska Parakramasinghe, told The Island the restructuring effort, presented as a reform to improve efficiency, was being rushed through without transparency, stakeholder engagement, or a clear financial framework.

"This so-called restructuring is being packaged as reform, but it's essentially a politically driven fragmentation of a strategic national utility,"

Parakramasinghe asserted. "The consequences will not only hit employees — they will ripple across the economy, affecting tariffs, investor confidence, and national energy security."

Under the new law, the CEB is set to be broken into multiple companies handling generation, transmission, and distribution.

Parakramasinghe warned that this model, promoted as a solution to debt and inefficiency, mirrors failed experiments elsewhere in the region.

"Splitting the CEB without a proper regulatory and financial backbone is like dividing a heart into pieces and expecting it to beat," he said. "The proposed entities will lack financial resilience, depend on unsustainable borrowing, and open the door to opportunistic private takeovers."

The CEBEU argues that the government's plan ignores the fundamental reality that the CEB, despite its challenges, provides reliable electricity to over 99% of the population — one of the highest coverage rates in South Asia.