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Multiple statutory violations in the draft PTP: CEBEU wants parliament oversight committee to intervene
View(s):The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union (CEBEU) has requested urgent intervention from Parliament’s Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development, claiming the ongoing electricity sector reforms violate the Sri Lanka Electricity Act No. 36 of 2024 and its amendment.
The union’s primary concern centers on the Preliminary Transfer Plan (PTP), a document that will guide successor companies taking over CEB operations after the appointed transition date. The Ministry of Energy circulated a 10-page draft PTP on September 25, 2025, requesting feedback by October 1—a four-day window. However, the union claims that the document was shared only with select management positions, excluding employees and trade unions.
The union discovered the same draft was simultaneously submitted to the Ministry of Finance for approval on September 25 and received ministerial approval on October 11, before stakeholder consultation was completed.
CEBEU identifies multiple statutory violations in the draft PTP. The plan fails to reference required policy directions from the Energy Minister under Section 18.2. Only four of six planned successor companies have been incorporated, leaving the pension and provident fund trustee company and residual company unestablished. The draft contains no mechanism for pension and provident fund contributions between successor companies, violating Sections 17.2, 18.3(d), and 18.3(e).
The union reports missing financial plans for debt allocation, inter-company account reconciliation, and asset inventories. No asset valuation by the chief valuer has been conducted, violating Section 39.1(b). The plan lacks operational agreements between companies, power purchase agreements, transmission service agreements, and draft licenses for the National System Operator and transmission provider.
Approximately 900 CEB employees eligible for transfer between successor companies are not mentioned in the PTP, despite an internal transfer mechanism being initiated weeks earlier.
CEBEU has requested the Committee summon relevant officials and allow the union to present observations, warning that improper implementation could cause sector collapse.
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