A Special Committee to look into introducing a pricing formula for electricity is to be appointed in the near future, Minister of Finance and Media Mangala Samaraweera revealed. The Minister was attending a meeting with prospective Enterprise Sri Lanka Entrepreneurs at the Matara Buddhist College yesterday when the question regarding a pricing formula for electricity was posed to him by a journalist.
Minister Mangala Samaraweera said the Government believes as a policy that a pricing formula must be implemented regarding electricity. “However we do not intend to introduce it immediately,” he said adding that it may take a year or two before it can be introduced.He also denied that introduction of a pricing formula was a proposal brought by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to the Sri Lankan Government.
“This is a proposal originating from within the country itself” he confirmed. With the fuel prices constantly on the rise, and with the possibility that the US dollar may also rise further, the Minister said. “There is a limit even a government can bear,” he added.