Secretary to the President Dr. G.B. Jayasundara has gave advices by sending letter to S.R Attygalle who is the the Secretary to the Treasury closure of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) .
Referring to the letter, the Secretary to the President had indicated that he would instruct the closure of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka according to budget proposals presented by Prime Minister as Minister of Finance.
A few days after this letter, all members of the commission resigned.It was warmly discussed in the civil society and in the political arena regarding this and the special thing that happened was that the Minister of Power and Energy did not know anything about this.
Minister of Power and Energy
Power and Energy Minister Dullas Alahapperuma at a media briefing in Colombo said that, “Now an amendment is taking place as presented by the Prime Minister in Parliament. Although he spoke clearly, he said that an amendment of the kind stated in the budget was taking place. Now the letter that Dr. Jayasundera received is not a letter that we sent after discussing with us. However, in the end we hope that some regulation is needed, ”
What is this Public Utilities Commission?
The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka was established by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka Act No. 35 of 2002 to regulate the power industry and various utilities in the country.
Receiving powers
The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, established by an Act of Parliament in 2002, is vested with the regulation of the power sector by the Sri Lanka Electricity Act No. 20 of 2009 /. The main objective of the bill is to implement low cost long term power generation plans in the country.
Ceylon Electricity Board General Employees Union
After decision of Secretary to the President ordering the closure of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, ceylon Electricity Board General Employees Union issued a statement regarding this.
It states that if the commission is closed down, it will lead to the purchase of electricity at a higher price in the future and an increase in electricity tariffs that will impose its burden on the consumer, raising suspicions of a planned conspiracy to embarrass the government.
The union questions whether the Secretary to the President is trying to undermine the legislative power and undermine public trust in the President by undermining the powers vested in the President by the 20th Amendment to make decisions in the public interest.
There is no need for a parliament
Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, the Chairman of the National Movement for a Just Society, said that the Public Utilities Commission was established in accordance with an Act of Parliament and that in order to repeal such an Act, the approval of the Cabinet would have to be obtained first of all.
He further stated that the abolition of the Public Utilities Commission through the order of the Secretary to the President is illegal and that even the President has no power to do so and sees this as a serious insult to Parliament.
Public Utilities Commission Employees Union
The Employees Union of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka has sent a letter to the Prime Minister pointing out that the closure of this commission was different from the budget speech.
The letter further states that these matters should be taken into consideration in the Cabinet Memorandum and that it is possible to present evidence in this regard.