Misplaced sense of victory?

Speculation was rife in some quarters, following the recent arrest of runaway criminal suspect, Ishara Sewwandi, in Nepal, where she fled via India in February after the murder of Ganemulla Sanjeewa, that an electricity tariff hike would coincide with a media circus over her extradition to Sri Lanka.

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Sri Lankan governments are notorious for timing tax and tariff hikes for such events. Time was when fuel price increases were announced while the country was celebrating wins in international cricket matches.

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), cannot be considered so independent and bold as to defy the ruling party in defending the rights of electricity consumers, but it has rejected the CEB's (read the government's) request for a 6.8% electricity tariff hike. So, the existing power tariffs will remain unchanged until the end of this year.

All those who opposed the proposed power tariff hike are on cloud nine, claiming victory and thanking the PUCSL profusely. The Opposition is prominent among them. It is said that victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan. There are many others who claim to have frustrated the government's efforts to jack up electricity tariffs.