Vision & Mission

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Vision & Mission

Our Vision

Create an environment for all inhabitants of Sri Lanka and the contributors to its development, to have access to essential infrastructure and utility services in the most economical manner within the boundaries of the sustainable development agenda of the country.

Our Mission

Regulate all the utilities within the purview of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, to ensure safe, reliable and reasonably priced infrastructure services for existing as well as future consumers in the most equitable and sustainable manner.

Functions & Objectives

Functions and Objectives

As the regulator for the electricity industry and designated regulator for the water services and downstream petroleum industries PUCSL Act identifies broad functions of us. These functions are listed out as follows;

1. Exercise, perform and discharge the powers, functions and duties assigned to the Commission by the Act;

2. Consult, to the extent the Commission considers appropriate, any person or group who or which may be affected, or likely to be affected by the decisions of the Commission

3. Advice the Government on all matters concerning any industry falling within the purview of the Commission

4. Collect record and disseminate, information concerning any public utilities industries.

5. Prepare within six months of its establish a regulatory manual containing a code of good practice governing the functions of the Commission and revise it as and when necessary

6. Exercise licensing, regulatory and inspection functions in respect of all matters provided for in any industry Act.

7. Enforce the provisions of licenses, contracts and other instruments issued under the authority of any industry Act

8. Regulate tariffs and other charges levied by regulated entities where required

9. Determine by mediation disputes arising in any public utilities industry.

10. Set and enforce technical and other standards relating to the safety, quality, continuity and reliability of the public utilities industries.

11. Undertake such other incidental or ancillary activities for the effective discharge of any of its functions

The above functions are carried out by the Commission to meet its broad objectives set out in the Section 14 (2) of the PUCSL Act No. 35 of 2002. These objectives are identified below.

· Protect interest of all consumers

· Promote competition

· Promote efficiency in both the operations of, and capital investment in, public utilities industries;

· Promote an efficient allocation of resources in public utilities industries;

· Promote safety and service quality in public utilities industries;

· Benchmark, where feasible, the utilities’ services as against international standards; and

· Ensure that price controlled entities acting efficiently, do not find it unduly difficult in financing their public utilities industries.

Organizational Structure

Organizational Structure

Note:
The five divisions depicted above are equal in status although the reporting lines differ. The underlying theme is ‘team-work’, within and across sections. Picked from a resource pool, cross-functional task teams handle assignments and special projects. Once the task/assignment is complete, the task team that was set up for the assignment is disintegrated and the members return to their relevant section(s).

Commissioners

The Commission consists of five members who are appointed by the minister in charge of Policy Development with the concurrence of the Constitutional Council. The composition of the Commission should be such that it consists of at least one member each from the professions of engineering, law and business management. The members have a five year term.

Dr. Jayatissa de Costa
(Chairman)

Dr. Bandula Perera
(Deputy Chairman) /
Prof. R.A. Attalage
(Member)

Mr.Sanjaya Gamage
(Member) /
Mr.Prasad Galhena
(Member)

Staff

staff

Damitha Kumarasinghe
Director General / Tel : 011- 2392606-8 Ext. 103
e-mail :
Gamini Herath
Deputy Director General / Tel : 011- 2392607-8 Ext. 106
e-mail :
Janaki Vithanagama
Secretary to the Commission / Tel : 011 – 2392607-8 Ext. 102
e-mail :
Chamath Goonewardena
Director - Regulatory Affairs / Tel : 011 – 2392607-8 Ext. 104
e-mail :
Kanchana Siriwardana
Director- Tariffs & Economics / Tel : 011 – 2392607-8 Ext. 105
e-mail :
Nalin Edirisinghe
Director - Licensing / Tel : 011 – 2392607-8 Ext. 108
e-mail :
Lumbini Kulasekera
Deputy Director-Legal / Tel : 011 – 2392607-8 Ext. 111
e-mail :
M. S. Senaratne Deputy Director -Market Development & Tariff / Tel : 011 – 2392607-8 Ext. 115
e-mail :
Yasantha Rathuvithana
Deputy Director - Consumer Affairs / Tel : 011 – 2392607-8 Ext. 110
e-mail :
Shantha Jayasinghe
Deputy Director - Market & Competition / Tel : 011 – 2392607-8 Ext. 116
e-mail :
Jayanat Herat
Deputy Director-Retail Tariff / Tel : 011 – 2392607-8 Ext. 127
e-mail :
Chaya Thilini Withanawasam
Deputy Director- Finance / Tel : 011 – 2392607-8 Ext. 112
e-mail :
M.Palitha Sirimal
Deputy Director- HR / Tel : 011 – 2392607-8 Ext. 114
e-mail :
Laksiri Lokuhewage
Deputy Director- IT & MIS / Tel : 011 – 2392607-8 Ext. 109
e-mail :
L. W. Chandrasekara
Electrical Inspector / Tel : 011 – 2392607-8 Ext. 133
e-mail :
Randeni P Thilaketatne
Electrical Inspector / Tel : 011 – 2392607-8 Ext. 289
e-mail :
Eranga Prasad Chandrasiri
Management Assistant / Tel : 011-2392607-8Ext. 118
e-mail :

NewsReleases

INDUSTRIES

Electricity

An overview (linked to annual reports page)

Annual Reports

Within three months of the end of each financial year we prepare our Annual Report which contains a report of our activities during that year and our proposed activities in the following year.

You can download recently published PUCSL Annual Reports from our website.

· Annual Report 2006

· Annual Report 2007

· Annual Report 2008

· Annual Report 2009

Consumer Information

Complaints

The Commission shall consider complaints from consumers or other stakeholders in the electricity industry if the matter raised falls within the Commission's purview. Parties complaining to the Commission should first attempt to resolve the matter directly with the licensee or other entity involved. To facilitate this, licensees have been required to develop Customer Charters setting out the services to be expected, how to complain if such services are not received and how the licensee will attempt to resolve the complaint - these charters also include performance standards the licensees will meet and compensation payable if they fail to do so.

Complaints can be submitted to the Commission at any time. However, in general, complaints will not be entertained if an attempt has not been made initially to resolve the issue with the party in question or if the complaint is submitted more than six months after the incident to which the complaint relates unless satisfactory reasons can be provided as to the reasons for the delay in submitting the complaint.

Complaints submitted to the Commission should, in general, follow the complaints form specified and accompany written evidence of the complaint initially submitted to the party in question as well as reasonable efforts made to resolve the issue. The Commission shall not accept anonymous complaints.

Upon receiving a complaint, the Commission will verify that it relates to a matter that it has jurisdiction over and thereafter:

1. contact the party against whom the complaint has been made, describe the nature of the complaint and invite the party to comment;

2. review the complaint in the light of the comments received and, possibly contact you for further information. If necessary, contact the party against whom the complaint has been made following the receipt of such further information;

3. where the complaint is considered to be justified, seek to resolve it using the dispute resolution mechanism [identified below?]; and

4. where the complaint is considered unjustified, dismiss it and provide in writing reasons for such dismissal.

5. If the complaint relates to an issue of wider interest, the Commission may choose to deal with it through a regulatory review following the process [described below?].

The Commission shall acknowledge the receipt of complaints in writing, generally, with five working days of receipt and intimate whether it is appropriate for the Commission to deal with the matter. Where the Commission is able to deal with a complaint, comments shall be invited from the parties involved, generally, within ten working days of receiving the complaint. The time taken for comments to be provided will vary depending on the nature of the complaint, but in general this shall not exceed ten working days after writing to the parties involved. Responses to the comments received, if necessary, will be required with another five working days.

Resolve Disputes

Resolving Disputes

The following categories of disputes arising in connection with the supply or use of electricity can be referred to the Commission by any party to the dispute, which the parties have not been able to resolve despite best efforts through the dispute resolution procedure prescribed by the Commission as rules The rules are available on our website:

1. a dispute between a distribution licensee and a tariff customer on matters related to obligations on such licensees to provide a supply of electricity and on consumers to pay for this and provide rights of access to the licenses; and

2. any other disputes between a licensee and a tariff customer, another licensee or any other affected party.

The Commission shall attempt to use mediation to resolve disputes, in the first instance, before other mechanisms are used. Mediation is a voluntary process, except where regulations, license conditions or similar provisions require disputes to be referred to us.
In the case of disputes relating to the first category, the Commission will mediate between the parties. In general, this will involve the use of mediation with a sealed arbitrator's decision as explained in the Alternate Dispute Resolution Manual available on our website. For other disputes, the Commission can require that the parties resolve the dispute through binding arbitration or have recourse to courts. The Commission will determine which party or parties shall pay the costs incurred in resolving the dispute.

Rights & Obligations

Rights and Obligations

Section 3 (1) (e) of Sri Lanka Electricity Act 2009 requires the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (Commission) to publish a statement outlining the Consumer rights and obligations.

Main objectives of publishing this statement are to create an awareness among the consumers of their rights which is vital for consumer protection, make them aware of the levels of the quality of service Licensee is expected to provide and also to educate the consumers of their obligations, fulfillment of which will be an essential requirement for the provision of an efficient electricity service.

Following rights and obligations have been explained in the Statement of Rights & Obligations.

Consumer Rights:

1. Access reliable and safe electric power commensurate with the quality standards licensee has agreed to provide

2. Access to information on matters related to electricity supply service

3. .New service connections, change of service capacity/tariff category

4. Disconnection and termination of agreement

5. Reconnections

6. Complaint handling

7. Meters, meter reading and billing procedures

8. Electricity bills

9. Service charges, price structure, and bill payment

10. Entry into the consumers' premises

11. Consumer education

12. Equality of treatment

13. Privacy and confidentiality

Consumer Obligations:

1. Legitimate Bill payments

2. Corporate with the licensee & its authorized officers

3. adhere to the terms & conditions of the Tariff Agreement entered into with the licensee

4. ensure the security of electricity lines installed in the premises

5. disclose all the relevant information to the Licensee when applying for a new connection

You can download a soft version of the Statement of Rights & Obligations from this website

Public Hearing

In carrying out the functions assigned, the Commission may hold public hearings to determine or investigate any matter that it considers necessary in the public interest.

A public hearing is thus a public investigation or inquiry which is held in a public forum and in which those who are affected by the matter(s) being heard or investigated. It is a formal proceeding held in a way that is consistent with the principles of natural justice and will provide stakeholders the opportunity to observe or where necessary participate enabling the Commission to make a fully informed decision.

The outcome of a public hearing will consist of an award, order or directions being made or the dismissal of a case.

Rules

Rules made by the Commission in respect of matters required or authorized under the Sri Lanka Electricity Act, No. 20 of 2009 are identified below:

1. Rules of Dispute Resolution

2. Rules for Review of Tariff

Regulations

Regulations made by the Minister on the recommendations of the Commission in respect of matters required or authorized under the Sri Lanka Electricity Act, No. 20 of 2009 are identified below:

1. Regulations for Electricity Applications for Licences, Extensions of Licences and Exemptions

2. Regulations for Consumer Consultative Committee

3. Regulations for Electricity Electrical Inspector’s Functions, Duties and Procedures

4. Regulations for Electricity Meters

5. Regulations for Electricity Miscellaneous

6. Regulations for Electricity Supply & Safety Standards and Performance Standards

Orders & Determinations

Awards, Orders and Determinations

Significant awards, orders and determinations made by the Commission including the evidence and justifications for the Commission's reasons and its decisions will be identified below:

Licensees