The government is now committed under the structural benchmarks of the IMF to introduce a pricing formula for fuel in March and a pricing formula for energy probably by September, next year,” Coomaraswamy told a forum in Colombo, this week.

State-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has a near total monopoly in electricity generation and a total monopoly in transmission and distribution in Sri Lanka, while Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has only one private sector competitor—Lanka Indian Oil Company PLC.

Both the CEB and CPC have been selling their products and services at subsidized prices and as a result, have accumulated losses running into billions of rupees, becoming two of the largest loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Govt. committed to introduce price formula under IMF structural benchmarks This will allow CEB and CPC to price products and services in a cost-reflective manner Successive governments have used electricity tariffs and fuel prices to sway voters

Although the government directs these two state-owned utilities to sell their products and services at subsidized prices, no budgetary transfers are done to support these subsidies, leaving them with a precarious financial predicament, which becomes toxic with their inherent inefficiencies.

A pricing formula will allow these utilities to price their products and services in a cost-reflective manner and keep the political interferences at bay. Successive governments have used electricity tariffs and fuel prices to sway

http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Pricing-formula-for-fuel-by-March-next-year-electricity-by-September-139224.html