The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka - the electricity sector regulator, filed a Fundamental Rights petition in the Supreme Court today (1st April 2022) naming the following Respondents; the Ministry of Finance, the Minister of Power and Energy, Monetary Board, Governor of the Central Bank, the Electricity Board and all other stakeholders of government institutions.
In the Petition, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka has submitted the advices far back from the year 2016, that were given to relevant authorities to take necessary steps to avoid the present crisis and none of the institutions have taken any steps in this regard, therefore that is the very reason that the present crisis has occurred.
In the Petition, it was also stated that, due to the interruption of the electricity supply, the public are undergoing tremendous hardships and therefore the Public Utilities Commission has sought interim orders directing the Minister of Finance, the Secretary of the Treasury and the Governor of the Central Bank to allocate $200 Million to purchase fuel and also directing the relevant ministers and authorities to expedite the process of generating electricity and to supply fuel. The Petition was filed through G.G.Arulpragasam Attorney-at-Law.