Regulator needed for electricity industry - power minister

COLOMBO (News1st): A regulatory body is required for the electricity sector, power minister Dullas Alahapperuma has said, despite a directive issued by the president's secretary to shut down the power regulator. " The letter sent by the president’s secretary P.B. Jayasundara had been done without our knowledge," the minister told reporters on Sunday. On January 1, the president's secretary had written to the treasury secretary instructing to shut down the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), in line with next year's budget proposals. However, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his budget speech as finance minister had only said that the PUCSL and the Ceylon Electricity Board acts would be amended to expedite power-related projects. "The Act will be amended in line with the proposals submitted to parliament by the Prime Minister. In the budget speech, he clearly stated that only the Acts would be amended," Alahapperuma noted. The Ceylon Electricity Board General Employees Union has pointed out that shutting down the regulatory body would pave the way for power purchases to be made at high costs and to ultimately burden the people with high electricity bills. It raised suspicion whether the directive to close down the institution was part of a conspiracy to inconvenience the current government. The statement questioned whether the president’s secretary is undermining the legislature and acting to tarnish the faith placed by the people on the President, by misusing the powers vested with the executive through the 20th amendment to make decisions for the welfare of the people. The union called on the public to come forward to protect the PUCSL to guide the electricity industry on the right path by ending large scale corruption in the sector