Sri Lanka plans time-of-use electricity tariffs, smart meters: Deputy Minister

Friday June 26, 2026 3:14 pm ECONOMYNEXT — Sri Lanka is planning to introduce time-of-use (ToU) electricity tariff rates and roll-out smart meters to shift the country’s electricity usage pattern from the night peak to the day peak, Deputy Minister of Power Arkam Ilyas said. ToU tariffs are pricing where electricity cost changes based on the time of day, week day, or season. Ilyas told parliament that the country’s night peak has increased compared to the day peak, which presents an economic challenge for a developing nation where industries require a different consumption structure. The reliance on fossil fuels to generate the bulk of electricity required during the night peak has added further urgency to the proposed transition. “We think that for a developing country, and if there are industries, to run our country we must shift this to the day peak… During the night peak, the electricity we have to use the most at night is generated from fossil fuels,” Ilyas said. The proposed ToU tariffs will not be targeted at all parties, as there is little utility in offering them to renewable energy providers or consumers who already primarily use electricity during the daytime. Instead, the government’s current stance is to offer these rates mostly to domestic consumers. To facilitate the new tariff structure, the government is launching a smart meter project through the state power utility, identifying a specific segment of high-consuming domestic users for the initial phase. “There is a group of about 300,000 to 400,000 within Sri Lanka with a domestic consumption of over 180 units. We are prepared to implement the smart-meter project through the electricity board for all those individuals,” Ilyas said. The government is currently carrying out activities to resolve outstanding issues before implementing the new framework as quickly as possible. In tandem with the smart meter rollout, authorities are also evaluating another proposal to accommodate battery storage systems on a domestic or home scale. (Colombo/Jun26/2026) Friday June 26, 2026 1:47 pm Friday June 26, 2026 1:47 pm ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has sold 1,521 million rupees of treasury bills offered on tap at average rates of 10.14 and 10.21 percent, the public debt management office said, bringing the total of bills sold this week to 71.521 billion rupees. Total market subscription was 1,521 million rupees. The debt office sold a 3-month bill at 10.14 percent. The debt office sold a 6-month bill at 10.21 percent. On Wednesday (24) the debt office raised 70 billion rupees of 3, 6 and 12 month bills. All 3 bills were later offered on tap. Read more Sri Lanka Treasury bill yields rise, all bills sold The date of settlement is June 26. (Colombo/Jun26/2026) Continue Reading Friday June 26, 2026 11:36 am Friday June 26, 2026 11:36 am ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has asked rooftop solar owners contributing over 300 kw to the national grid to switch off during the upcoming long weekend, and said it will be rolling out a modem installation that will enable the power utility to remotely do so in the future. “We entreat rooftop solar owners generating over 300kw to switch off during this weekend, June 27-29, so we can avoid a system collapse like what happened last Vesak [full moon day]” Deputy Minister of Energy Arkam Ilyas said in parliament on Friday. During the last full moon holiday, Sri Lanka experienced a power breakdown in several areas due to a big rooftop solar share. The power utility struggled to maintain grid stability with rooftop solar as daytime demand fell with factories and businesses closed for the Vesak holiday. The island-nation has had several such instance in the recent past. Sri Lanka cascading power failure fanned by big rooftop solar share: CEBEU “We had to then switch off about 120 feeders,” the deputy minister said, adding that Sri Lanka has around 2,200 rooftop solar owners generating over 100Kw. “We have launched a project to fix a modem for them. Then in such an emergency situation, we will be able to remotely turn the feeders off and avoid power breakdowns in various parts of the country.” The government hopes to install them all by December, Ilyas said. Opposition legislator Harsha de Silva questioned if the National System Operator, a successor company of the Ceylon Electricity Board, has the power to do so. Ilyas said the operator will act under the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka’s gazetted remit. “System stability is number 1,” he said. (Colombo/Jun26/2026) Continue Reading Friday June 26, 2026 11:03 am Friday June 26, 2026 11:03 am ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange indices were trading up on Friday morning, CSE data showed, with the benchmark All Share Price Index moving up 0.20 percent. The ASPI was up 44.99 points at 22,452.03, while the more liquid S&P SL20 was up 0.25 percent, or 15.74 points, at 6,258.49. Positive contributors to the ASPI were Sampath Bank (up 0.88 percent at 144.00 rupees), Dialog Axiata (up 1.28 percent at 47.60 rupees), Central Finance Company (up 1.96 percent at 234.50 rupees), Colombo Dockyard (up 1.34 percent at 132.25 rupees), and LOLC Holdings (up 0.91 percent at 525.00 rupees). John Keells Holdings (down 0.49 percent at 20.40 rupees), Laugfs Gas (down 1.85 percent at 53.00 rupees), Citizens Development Business Finance (down 0.46 percent at 43.50 rupees), and Colombo Land & Development Company (down 3.46 percent at 55.80 rupees) were top negative contributors. Market turnover was 349 million rupees. Diversified financials led turnover with 73.3 million rupees. Lee Hedges concluded negotiations with Amana Bank to sell and transfer its land and premises in Kollupitiya for a total consideration of 2.7 billion rupees, with the transaction completed on June 25, 2026. Lee Hedges shares were trading up 2.52 percent, at Rs.325.75, while Amana Bank was up 1.13 percent at Rs.26.80. (Colombo/June26/2026) Continue Reading Friday June 26, 2026 10:48 am Friday June 26, 2026 10:48 am ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee was quoted at 336.90/337.00 to the US dollar in the spot market on Friday, from 337.25/35 the previous day, while bond yields were quoted slightly higher, dealers said. The telegraphic transfer rate for Sri Lanka’s rupee against the US dollar was 332.3416 buying, 342.0372 selling; the euro was 376.2315 selling, 389.9580 buying; and the pound was 436.5994 buying, 451.8110 selling. A bond maturing on 01.08.2030 was quoted at 11.25/30 percent, up from 11.20/25 percent. A bond maturing on 15.10.2030 was quoted at 11.37/40 percent. A bond maturing on 15.01.2033 was quoted at 11.55/65 percent, up from 11.58/63 percent. A bond maturing on 15.06.2033 was quoted at 11.70/80 percent. A bond maturing on 15.03.2035 was quoted at 11.85/12.00 percent, up from 11.80/95 percent. (Colombo/Jun26/2026) Continue Reading Friday June 26, 2026 10:45 am Friday June 26, 2026 10:45 am ECONOMYNEXT – SAARC member states should work together more to overcome difficulties facing the regional body and to re-ignite it, its top official has told a forum. SAARC Secretary General Golam Sarwar said “there remains great opportunity for regional unity to take center stage,” at a forum in Colombo on ‘Reigniting SAARC: Achievements, Challenges and Way Forward’ by the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS). While immediate bilateral priorities often demand close attention, he said, momentum is emerging as leadership across the region works to keep broader cooperation at the heart of the conversation. “When member nations champion this collective vision together, they can successfully elevate the dialogue around shared progress, ensuring that deep, meaningful regional integration remains a vibrant and lasting priority for all.” The RCSS event sought to examine the current state and future potential of SAARC and regional cooperation within South Asia. Sarwar, who is on a visit to Sri Lanka, detailed the contributions of SAARC over nearly four decades, and its role as an “irreplaceable beacon of hope” for the region’s 2 billion people. He outlined ongoing activities of specialized regional centres, highlighting the SAARC Cultural Centre in Sri Lanka as a vital node of technical expertise driving a practical, bottom-up approach to regional problem-solving. The Secretary General said that nothing epitomizes the spirit of “knowledge without borders” more powerfully than the establishment of the South Asian University (SAU). He pointed to cooperation taking place among states at the functional level, such as a recent ministerial conference in Colombo. SAARC is the region’s premier vehicle for cooperation, Sarwar said, urging memebr states to unite to build a “much stronger, more empowered, and thoroughly revitalized SAARC.” The subsequent dialogue that followed included the participation of Esala Weerakoon, former SAARC Secretary General; Gamani Keerawella; Waruna Wilpatha, Director at the SAARC Secretariat; Varuni Muthukumarana, Director General (South Asia) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former Director of the SAARC Secretariat; and Kaushalya Kumarasinghe, Director of the SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), and diplomats, academics, policy experts and media personnel. (Colombo/Jun26/2026) Continue Reading Someone passes a note to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake as he speaks in parliament Thursday June 25, 2026 6:11 pm Thursday June 25, 2026 6:11 pm ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said investigations are underway for money worth around US$ 1 billion that was sent out of the country illicitly since 2023 as advance for imports. The money was paid via Telegraphic Transfers (TT), but no corresponding goods arrived to the country in return, the president told Parliament on Thursday (26). “Who can take around Rs. 300 billion out of the country? No ordinary person or businessman can move such vast sums of money. However, they have taken it out,” he said. “There is money earned from drugs, corruption, and organized crime. We have started investigations into this.” Investigations have allegedly revealed that certain bank branches and bank managers are involved in these transactions. The same illegal activities have continued in other banks as well with those managers moving to other banks, Dissanayake said. Trade analysts have cited over-invoicing, fictitious shipments with no physical goods returned, and multiple invoicing with false descriptions as methods used to move money out of the country under the guise of imports. The latest revelation by the President comes after a raft of scams including a 13.2 billion rupee fraud involving the listed private lender National Development Bank as well as a US$ 2.5 million scam siphoned from the finance ministry. (Colombo/June 25/2026) Continue Reading