Sri Lanka, April 8 -- The government proposes to increase electricity bills by 30% in May, following an 11% hike in April to generate Rs. 41.5 billion, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa stated in Parliament today (08).

Roughly half of this amount, or Rs. 20.5 billion, will be utilised to offset losses resulting from the substandard coal scam.

Due to the inferior coal, 250 gigawatt-hours were lost, requiring Rs. 20.5 billion to generate the equivalent power using diesel power plants, the Opposition Leader explained.

He asserted that the government intends to collect this specific amount from the public through the 30% tariff increase in May.

While the President suggested recovering losses from the responsible companies, the burden of ...