Harsha criticises CEB's flawed accounting and unfair practices in tariff revision proposal

ECONOMIST and Parliamentarian Dr. Harsha de Silva recently criticised the Ceylon Electricity Board's (CEB) proposed electricity tariff revision for the latter half of 2025, arguing that the financial calculations presented by the utility are fundamentally flawed and violate principles of fairness and transparency.

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Speaking at the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka’s (PUCSL) public consultation held on 3 June at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), he dismantled key elements of the CEB’s financial projections and accounting methodology.

One of the focal points to his argument was the CEB’s reported loss of Rs. 144 billion in 2024, a figure he said is misleading due to the inclusion of a Rs. 62 billion ‘clawback’—a term many interpret as ‘advance payments’ collected from electricity users.

“A total of Rs. 51 billion of this clawback is attributed to the January-July six-month period, with Rs. 25.5 billion specifically tied to the first quarter. If this clawback is properly accounted for, the CEB would actually show a profit of about Rs. 7 billion in the first quarter, invalidating the projected Rs. 42.2 billion loss for the second half of 2025,” he argued.

Dr. de Silva also claimed that the CEB has altered revenue figures mid-year.