The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has announced a staggering profit for the first quarter ended 31 March 2024. The state-owned utility reported a profit of Rs. 88.3 billion, marking a remarkable 349.8 percent change compared to the Rs. 35.3 billion loss recorded in the same period last year.
The impressive performance was attributed to several key factors. Despite providing no concessions to domestic customers, the CEB saw a reduction of 28 percent in the cost of sales, leading to a gross profit of Rs. 69 billion. This is in stark contrast to the Rs. 17 billion gross loss reported in the first quarter of 2023.
Furthermore, the CEB recorded significant contractions in distribution costs (56 percent YoY), other expenses (32.7 percent YoY), and administrative expenses (14 percent YoY), resulting in an operating profit of Rs. 97 billion. This marks a staggering 608 percent change compared to the Rs. 19.2 billion operating loss recorded in the first quarter of the previous year.
The financial report also highlighted the CEB's management of interest-bearing loans and borrowings, with proceeds amounting to Rs. 4.8 billion and repayments totaling Rs. 7.8 billion for the first quarter of 2024.
However, the news comes amidst controversy surrounding electricity tariffs. In March, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) approved an overall tariff reduction of 21.9 percent, based on a proposal and cost data submitted by the CEB. This move followed significant increases in electricity tariffs since August 2022, with charges raised to comply with International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions. Consumers witnessed a 75 percent hike in August 2022, followed by increases of 66 percent in February 2023 and 18 percent in October 2023.
