Sri Lanka President grants power relief to middle class

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa has instructed the Ministry of Power and Energy to extend the concessionary rates of electricity up to the consumers whose usage is up to 120 units per month.

Earlier, the President stated in the budget speech that the concessionary rate would be valid only for the users that use up to 90 units of electricity per month.

However, the President announced the new decision at a discussion with the officials of the Public Utility Commission and the Ministry of Power and Energy.

The measure will be highly appreciated by the lower middle class, government sources say.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Power and Energy has come under sever criticism from the small and medium scale industrialists as the Ceylon Electricity Board has asked them to make deposit that equals to two months of electricity bills.